The  COLORED  GIRL 
BEAUTIFUL 


Hackley 


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C- 


1  T  v 


University  of  California  •  Berkeley 


The  Colored  Girl  Beautiful 


THE 

COLORED  GIRL 
BEAUTIFUL 


By 

E.  AZALIA  HACKLEY 

Author  of    "A  Guide  in  Voice  Culture"    and 

"Public  School  Lessons  in  Voice  Culture." 


BURTON  PUBLISHING  COMPANY 

PUBLISHERS 
KANSAS  CITY,  MISSOURI 


Copyrighted    1916 
By  E.  Azalia  Hackley 


Dedication. 

To  colored  women  in  whom  I  have 
faith  and  to  colored  children  whom  I 
love,  I  send  this  little  message. 


Foreword. 

This  volume  has  been  compiled  from 
talks  given  to  girls  in  colored  boarding 
schools.  The  first  talk  was  given  at  the 
Tuskegee  Institute  at  the  request  of  the 
Dean  of  the  Girls'  Department. 

It  was  an  impromptu  talk  after  an 
hour's  notice.  Just  before  the  Dean 
closed  the  door  to  leave  me  alone  with 
the  girls,  I  repeated  my  question, 
"What  shall  I  talk  about?"  The  reply 
was,  "Tell  them  anything  you  think 
they  should  know.  They  will  believe 
an  experienced  woman  like  you  who 
travels  and  knows  the  world  and  life." 

As  1  looked  at  the  sea  of  faces,  "want- 
ing to  know,"  and  as  I  thought  of  all 
they  had  to  learn,  the  vastness  of  all  of 

9 


THE  COLORED  GIRL  BEAUTIFUL, 

it  almost  overpowered  me.  "May  I  sit 
down,  girls?  Now,  what  shall  we  talk 
about  that  is  interesting  to  every  one  of 
you?" 

"Would  you  like  to  talk  about  Love 
— real  Love?"  "Yes.  yes."  came  the  an- 
swer. "Would  you  like  to  talk  about 
Ceaiuy — real  Beauty?"  "Yes!  Yes!" 
they  answered  and  the  chairs  were 
pulled  forward.  For  forty  minutes  we 
had  a  heart  to  heart  talk.  The  dean  and 
teachers  had  perhaps  told  the  girls  the 
same  words,  but  the  message  seemed  to 
come  more  directly  to  them  from  one 
who  had  daily  contact  with  the  great, 
busy  world. 

The  talks  were  very  informal  and 
personal  and  as  the  girls  asked  ques- 
tions the  ihought  came  to  me  to  jot 
down  the  points,  that  similar  talks 
might  be  given  to  the  girls  in  other 
schools.  Then  came  the  request.  "You 
come  so  seldom,  can  you  print  the 
talks?"  Much  of  the  talks  could  not  be 


THE   COLORED  GIRL   BEAUTIFUL  11 

printed  because  many  of  the  questions 
and  answers  were  personal. 

If  had  a  daughter  I  would  desire 
that  she  should  know  these  things  and 
more,  that  she  might  be  a  beacon  light 
to  her  home  and  to  the  race.  As  I  have 
not  been  blessed  with  a  daughter.  I  send 
these  thoughts  to  the  daughters  of  other 
colored  women,  hoping  that  among 
them  there  is  some  new  thought  worthy 
of  a  racial  "Amen/ 

E.  AZALIA  HACK  LEV. 

Chicago.  111..  August.  1916. 


CONTENTS 

The  Future  Page  17 

The  Colored  Child  Beautiful  23 

The  Colored  Girl  Beautiful  41 

Laws  Of  Attraction — Vibrations  55 

Love  61 

Personal  Appearance  71 

Deep  Breathing  79 

Originality  85 

Youth  And  Maturity  97 

Self  Control  101 

Her  Relationship  With  Men  109 
The  Religion  Of  The  Colored  Girl  Beautiful  117 
The  School  Of  The  Colored  Girl  Beautiful  133 
The  Home  Of  The  Colored  Girl  Beautiful  143 

The  Colored  Working  Girl  Beautiful  151 

The  Colored  Woman  Beautiful  161 

The  Colored  Wife  Beautiful  169 

The  Colored  Mother  Beautiful  181 
13 


The  Future. 


The  beautiful  part  about  the  colored 
race  in  America,  is  the  future.  As  a 
mixed  race  we  are  undeveloped.  We 
may  become  whatever  we  WILL  to  be- 
come. 

This  race  is  a  growing  people.  The 
future  is  veiled  but  it  may  reveal  some 
strange  things  to  the  world.  What  op- 
portunities there  are  for  leadership!  If 
there  were  only  some  ways  to  ''squelch" 
the  fakers  and  arouse  the  dreamers! 

If  each  would  only  think  out  a  differ- 
ent plan  for  race  advancement,  there 
would  always  be  followers.  Some  would 
be  attracted  in  one  way  and  others 
reached  in  another  way,  and  so  carry 
lines  of  thought. 

The  gardener  is  aiming  towards  bet- 


18  THE   COLORED  GIRL  BEAUTIFUL 

ter  vegetation.  Scrubs  and  dwarfs  are 
sacrificed  totally  to  produce  a  more  per- 
fect plant. 

The  horse  breeder,  any  animal  breed- 
er, the  bird  fancier,  all  aim  to  get  a  bet- 
ter breed  of  stock  in  each  generation. 

The  cry  of  the  hour  is  "A  better  breed 
of  babies.''  As  it  takes  several  genera- 
tions to  breed  a  prize  winner,  it  is  time 
for  the  colored  race  to  look  into  these 
things  and  prepare  for  the  future  col- 
ored child,  handicapped  as  it  will  be. 
Nature  needs  assistance  in  this. 

Attractiveness  in  appearance  is  a 
strong  factor  in  success.  A  pleasing, 
even,  charming  personal  appearance 
may  be  cultivated. 

The  mind — the  gray  matter — either 
fills  the  body  with  life  or  beauty,  or  it 
destroys  life  and  beauty,  according  to 
the  concentration  of  thought,  and  re- 
sulting habits. 

If  one  were  to  ask,  "Can  a  leopard 
change  its  spots,"  the  reply  must  always 


THE  COLORED  GIRL,  BEAUTIFUL  19 

be,  "No."  But  if  one  were  to  ask  if  the 
Negro  could  change  his  appearance, 
through  himself,  his  own  will  power, 
the  answer  would  be,  "Yes,"  because 
the  Negro  has  a  thinking  brain.  He 
may  become  as  attractive  as  he  wills  to 
become.  , 

As  his  taste  and  ideas  of  beauty  con- 
form to  the  accepted,  so  will  he  grow 
like  these  ideals  and  standards. 


The  Colored  Child  Beautiful. 


Every  baby  is  beautiful  to  its  mother. 
Every  colored  baby  is  generally,  only 
cunning  or  cute  to  many  of  the  white 
race  who  have  their  own  ideal  of  baby 
beauty,  which  depends  mainly  upon  a 
white  skin. 

Beauty  is  a  matter  of  personal  opin- 
ion. To  a  savage  African,  a  baby  with 
a  black  skin  and  flat  nose  is  the  ideal. 

To  a  Chinese,  a  plump,  yellow,  slant 
eyed  baby  satisfies. 

To  the  Esquimaux,  the  round  faced, 
small  eyed,  black  haired  little  one  is  the 
admired  type. 

A  child  should  be  taught  to  love  and 
be  proud  of  its  race  and  to  know  the 
good  points  of  the  race. 

Colored    babies    are   born    with    rare 

23 


24  THE  COLORED  GIRL  BEAUTIFUL 

physical  gifts.  First:  They  are  born 
with  the  most  beautiful  eyes  in  the 
world.  Unlike  foreign  children  who 
come  to  this  country,  they  seldom  have 
sore  eyes.  I  have  visited  about  six  hun- 
dred colored  schools  and  have  yet  to  see 
a  sore  eyed  colored  child. 

The  obligation  of  a  gift  is  the  preser- 
vation and  cultivation  of  this  gift. 
Little  colored  children  should  be  taught 
to  keep  their  eyes  open  and  bright  with 
intelligence  and  clear  with  good  health, 
because  the  eyes  are  the  windows  of  the 
soul.  Their  eyes  should  look  straight 
into  the  eyes  of  others  with  their  souls 
shining  through.  Their  eyes  must  be 
kind  eyes,  listening  eyes,  observant 
eyes,  thoughtful  eyes,  and  remembering 
eyes. 

Second:  Colored  people  are  credited 
with  having  the  finest  teeth  in  the 
world.  The  obligation  of  this  gift  is 
cleanliness  and  preservation  of  this  at- 
tractive gift.  A  colored  child  should  be 


THE  COLORED  GIRL  BEAUTIFUL  25 

taught  to  deny  herself  to  pay  a  den- 
tist's bill. 

Third:  Colored  people  have  the 
finest  voices  in  the  world.  The  obliga- 
tion of  this  gift  is  its  cultivation,  proper 
care  and  control  of  the  voice,  and  to 
speak  in  good  English. 

There  are  other  natural  gifts  but  of 
them — later  on.  The  greatest  gift  to 
the  Negro  is  himself.  So  much  in  him 
is  hidden,  spiritually,  intellectually, 
pyschically  and  physically,  that  he  is  a 
vast  unexplored  mine. 

All  colored  babies  like  all  little  white 
babies,  excepting  in  the  shades  of  color, 
are  born  about  alike,  with  round  or  long 
heads,  all  with  the  same  soft  spot  on  the 
crown,  and  like  white  babies,  are  mostly 
all  mouth  because  they  are  hungry  little 
animals  and  use  their  mouths  often. 

As  the  child  observes,  thinks,  and 
"wills,"  the  bumps  and  hollows  appear, 
the  features  develop  and  lines  grow. 
Any  ugly  little  baby  may  develop  into 


26  THE   COLORED  GIRL  BEAUTIFUL 

a  beautiful  child.  Any  beautiful  child 
may  grow  ugly  and  coarse. 

If  babies  were  born  with  developed 
features  they  would  be  monstrosities. 

"Within  each  of  them  is  an  inward 
sculptor.  Thought,  who  is  a  rapid,  true 
workman." 

Colored  children  should  be  taught 
that  Thought  will  improve  their  good 
points  and  will  eradicate  any  objection- 
able points.  They  should  be  taught 
their  good  points  and  their  bad  points, 
and  should  be  encouraged  to  improve 
their  personal  appearance,  as  far  as 
objectionable  racial  characteristics  are 
concerned. 

As  the  girl  grows  she  should  be 
taught  the  value  of  personal  appearance 
as  a  factor  in  her  life  problem  and  ulti- 
mate success. 

A  little  colored  girl  who  wants  to  be 
pretty  should  be  taught  what  "pretty" 
really  is.  The  old  proverb  says,  "Pretty 
is  as  pretty  does,"  thus  recognizing  the 


THE   COLORED  GIRL   BEAUTIFUL  27 

power  of  the  inward  Sculptor  Thought, 
and  its  controlling-  and  cultivating 
forces. 

At  an  early  age  the  child  should  be 
given  subjects  to  think  about.  She 
should  be  taught  to  see  the  beautiful  in 
Nature  and  Art  that  the  reflection  may 
be  seen  in  her  face  and  in  her  actions. 
Ask  her  if  she  saw  the  sun  rise  this 
morning  or  the  sun  set  last  night,  or  if 
she  noticed  the  moon  light,  or  the  gran- 
deur of  the  low  black  clouds,  or  the 
fleeciness  of  the  soft  white  clouds;  tell 
her  to  listen  to  the  language  of  the  birds 
and  insects,  and  the  sighing  of  the 
winds  through  the  trees.  Tell  her  to 
listen  to  the  teeming  of  the  earth  and 
ask  where  and  when  the  earth  smells 
the  sweetest.  Teach  her  to  walk  and 
talk  with  Mother  Nature  and  to  recog- 
nize her  voice  in  everything,  until  Na- 
ture will  appear  more,  mean  more,  and 
teach  more.  Companionship  with  flow- 
ers and  the  cultivation  of  plants  is  to  be 


28  THE  COLORED  GIRL  BEAUTIFUL 

recommended,  even  in  the  most  con- 
gested flat  life. 

The  colored  child  should  be  taught 
Negro  History  that  she  may  be  proud 
of  her  dark  skin.  It  is  a  long  interest- 
ing story  way  back  to  the  days  of 
Ethiopian  glory,  for  the  Negro  is  the 
sub-strata  of  that  race.  Tell  the  child 
how  fair  races  from  the  North  invaded 
Africa,  and  until  today  the  present  col- 
ored race  can  trace  its  black  blood  back 
to  African  kings  and  queens,  and  its 
white  blood  to  the  kings  and  queens  of 
the  Old  World.* 

Let  her  know  that  the  black  man  was 
the  author  of  much  of  the  world's  his- 
tory, and  that  Moro,  the  capital  of 
Ethiopia,  was  at  one  time  the  great  seat 
of  learning.  She  should  be  taught  early 
in  life  to  read  Ancient  History,  that  she 

•NOTE.  The  Bible  and  other  books  tell  us  that 
the  Ethiopians  were  a  prominent  people  before  the 
time  of  Christ. 

Recently  in  excavations  pictures  of  Egyptian  princes 
reigning  2900-2750  B.  C.  prove  from  their  hair  that 
they  had  Negro  blood.  America  will  have  these  proofs 
in  the  Boston  Museum  of  Fine  Arts, 


THE  COLORED  GIRL  BEAUTIFUL  29 

may  see  what  the  black  man  has  done 
for  the  world,  that  she  -may  have  pride  in 
her  black  blood  as  well  as  in  her  white 
blood.  Tell  her  the  record  of  the  Negro 
as  a  soldier,  statesman,  and  explorer. 
Read  to  her  about  the  brave  part  that 
he  played  in  the  war  of  1812  and  subse- 
quent wars,  even  in  the  recent  terrible 
war,  he  was  among  the  bravest.  Help 
her  to  make  a  scrap  book  that  she  may 
pass  her  knowledge  on  to  others.  While 
authorities  in  history  say  that  a  race 
once  great,  can  never  attain  greatness 
again,  as  truly  as  the  pendulum  swings 
this  mixed  race  will  surely  come  into  its 
own.  The  colored  race  comes  from  sev- 
eral lines  of  white  ancestry,  and  as  fruit 
is  grafted  to  a  finer  degree  of  species, 
so  the  colored  race  will  some  day  show 
its  latent  powers.  The  child  of  today  is 
to  be  the  mother  of  the  great  child  that 
is  to  be,  and  each  one  must  do  her  part 
to  help  prepare  for  the  future  great  col- 
ored child. 


30  THE   COLORED  GIRL  BEAUTIFUL 

Teach  the  colored  girl  about  prej- 
udice. Parents  should  read  up  the 
World's  history  of  persecution  and  note 
the  accounts  of  race  and  religious  per- 
secution in  England,  France,  Germany, 
Russia,  Turkey  and  Spain.  Even  today 
there  is  English  hatred  of  the  East  In- 
dian, Russian  persecution  of  the  Jew, 
and  Turkish  persecution  of  the  Armen- 
ians. Then  ,  too,  Europeans  are  only 
just  beginning  to  regard  the  Oriental 
nations  as  human  beings.  Prejudice  is 
hard  to  explain  and  hard  to  conquer.  It 
has  taken  generations  in  other  instances 
and  the  world  has  always  kicked  the 
under  clog.  Tell  the  colored  child  how 
these  other  persecuted  nations  are  con- 
quering prejudice;  tell  her  that  each  col- 
ored child  must  be  a  race  missionary 
and  prove  her  worth  and  powers,  thus 
winning  friends  for  the  race. 

She  must  be  taught  the  application  of 
the  story  of  Esther  to  her  race.  Tell  her 
that  each  colored  girl  may  be  an  Esther, 


THE  COLORED  GIRL  BEAUTIFUL  31 

especially  in  all  matters  of  cleanliness, 
manners,  and  self  sacrifice,  to  advance 
and  change  the  prevalent  opinion  of  the 
Negro.  Each  colored  woman,  not  only 
bears  her  own  burden,  but  she  bears  the 
burden  of  posterity  and  the  burden  of 
the  race.  Each  one  must  fit  herself  for 
the  triple  burden.  Not  even  a  talent 
should  be  used  wholly  for  personal  gain 
nor  sol  eh"  for  present  uses,  Pier  educa- 
tion must  be  a  process  of  development 
of  powers  not  onlv  to  fit  her  for  citizen- 
ship and  life,  but  it  must  fit  her  for  her 
race's  burdens. 

Some  one  has  said: 

"To  educate  a  boy  is  but  the  educa- 
tion of  an  individual — but  when  one 
educates  a  girl,  the  education  of  a  family 
results." 

Every  little  colored  girl,  like  every 
little  white  girl,  wants  to  be  beautiful. 
What  is  beauty?  Beauty  is  a  combina- 
tion of  personal  appearance  and  charm, 
and  it  can  not  be  purchased. 


32  THE  COLORED  GIRL  BEAUTIFUL 

Kach  year  the  merchant  takes  stock 
and  separates  all  the  best  articles,  the 
medium  articles,  and  the  poor  articles. 

And  so  when  one  determines  upon 
self  improvement,  she  should  take  stock. 
She  sums  up  her  good  points  and  her 
bad  points.  The  good  points  she  will 
accentuate  and  the  bad  points  she  will 
eradicate,  unless  Thought,  the  inward 
Sculptor  has  been  at  work  too  long.  It 
is  for  this  reason  that  little  colored  chil- 
dren should  be  taught  early  in  life  to 
think  rightly. 

"As  the  sprig  is  bent,  so  will  the  tree 
be." 

Every  thought,  every  emotion  has  an 
outward  manifestation.  Because  people 
think,  feel,  and  act,  they  leave  marks  of 
these  in  bodily  lines  and  habits.  Not 
only  is  the  face  a  bulletin  board,  but  as 
Schopenhauer  says,  "One's  life  may  be 
his  autobiography."  One's  life  may 
even  be  read  from  his  skeleton. 

Sometimes      certain      thoughts      and 


THE   COLORED  GIRL  BEAUTIFUL  33 

habits  repeated  and  repeated  leave 
spots.  Sy>oi:s  always  depreciate  whether 
on  \\-i  I,  r^eat,  wood,  animals  or  people. 
Has  the  Negro  any  "Spots"?  Other 
people  think  so.  If  these  so-called 
"spots"  will  interfere  with  his  future 
success  in  life  then  let  him  eradicate 
them  with  the  inward  Sculptor- 
Thought. 

Is  the  dark  skin  a  spot  ?  Oh  no,  it  is 
his  history,  his  strength,  as  was  Sam- 
son's hair.  Because  of  his  color  he  has 
powers  and  forces  which  could  get 
him  anything  he  desires  in  life  if  he 
would  only  begin  while  a  child,  to 
learn  restraint,  how  to  govern  and  con- 
trol himself  until  he  could  accumulate 
sufficient  will  power  to  direct  these 
forces  for  his  own  advancement. 

I  Because  of  his  color  he  has  rare 
psychic  powers  which  are  not  yet  un- 
derstood 1)}'  himself  or  by  the  world. 

What  is  the  largest  Spot?  If  one 
wishes  to  get  a  true  estimate  of  him- 


31  THE   COLORED  GIRL  BEAUTIFUL 

self  lie  finds  out  what  others  ridicule 
concerning  him. 

What  feature  ahout  the  Xcgro  is  ridi- 
culed the  most?  Whv,  the  mouth. 
What  is  the  matter  with  it?  A  large 
mouth  is  supposed  to  he  the  sign  of 
generosity.  No,  but  if  it  has  thick 
lips  and  is  a  leaking  mouth?  If  it  hangs 
open  too  much?  Only  two  classes  of 
persons  are  excused  from  having  open 
mouths,  and  these  are  children  with 
adenoids  and  imbeciles.  Every  one 
else  is  supposed  to  keep  his  mouth  shut 
most  of  the  time. 

The  leaking  mouth  with  the  hanging 
under  jaw  causes  a  tendency  to  "leak" 
along  other  lines.  One's  business  and 
personal  affairs  "leak"  in  street  cars, 
public  places,  and  on  the  streets  to  the 
detriment  of  the  race. 

Permitting  the  lips  to  hang,  thickens 
them.  They  grow  too  heavy  to  hold 
up.  Too  much  grinning  and  loud 
laughter  will  widen  the  mouth  and 


THE  COLORED  GIRL  BEAUTIFUL  35 

loosen  it.  We  do  not  desire  small 
mouths,  but  we  do  not  look  attractive 
with  "leaking  mouths.'1  Our  mouths 
are  improving-.  In  the  schools  and  col- 
lege pictures  we  find  unmistakable  evi- 
dence that  Thought  is  working  wonders 
with  the  Negro  mouth. 

What  is  the  next  most  ridiculed 
"Spot''?  The  nose.  What  is  the  mat- 
ter with  the  noses?  Large  noses  are 
said  to  be  an  indication  of  character 
and  ability.  Napoleon  always  selected 
the  generals  with  large  noses  because 
he  believed  them  to  be  more  efficient. 
Oh,  but  the  noses  are  often  flat  and 
have  no  hump. 

Look  at  the  hump  of  the  Roman 
nose  which  indicates  "fight."  Look 
at  the  hump  of  the  Indian  nose  which 
also  indicates  warlike  tendencies.  Take 
the  Jewish  nose.  The  hump  means 
fight — a  continual  warfare  for  gold. 

But  the  Negro  has  been  a  peaceful 
person,  consequently  he  developed  no 


36  THE   COLORED  GIRL  BEAUTIFUL 


nose  hump.  It  is  time  that  he  de- 
veloped a  hump — a  Negroid  hump.  He 
must  pinch  up,  think  up,  will  up,  a 
hump.  The  time  has  come  to  fight, 
not  only  for  rights,  but  for  looks  as 
well.  He  must  build  up  a  nose  with 
more  character,  which  can  not  be  ridi- 
culed. Grinning  widens  the  nose  and 
prevents  its  upward  building,  so  grin- 
ning must  cease. 

In  examining  the  pictures  of  grad- 
uates from  the  different  schools,  we 
find  that  Thought  is  changing  the 
noses  as  well  as  the  mouths.  As  the 
mouth  and  nose  are  changed,  so  will 
the  whole  expression  of  the  face  be 
changed. 

The  Negro's  hair  may  be  considered 
a  "Spot"  by  some,  but  care  and  cul- 
tivation are  changing  this  so-called 
"Spot"  and  more  care  and  attention 
will  work  more  wonderful  results.  * 

*NOTE.  'Kinky  hair  is  neither  a  disgraceful  nor  a 
shameful  heredity.  It  is  an  honorable  legacy  from 
Africa.  A  kind  Mother  Nature  protected  her  children 


THE  COLORED  GIRL  BEAUTIFUL  37 

His  eyes  and  his  teeth  are  good 
points  and  he  has  been  given  a  mag- 
nifies m  backbone  as  well  as  a  beauti- 
ful voice,  although  he  often  permits 
these  gifts  to  degenerate. 

Because  God  has  given  each  colored 
girl  a  beautiful  voice,  she  should  be 
taught  to  speak  in  a  soft  mellow  tone. 
She  should  speak  eloquently  and  ele- 
gantly. If  she  screeches  or  yells  and 
abuses  her  vocal  cords,  she  will  not 
only  disgust  people  but  she  will  lose 
her  voice  and  have  no  beauty  of  tone 
to  bequeath. 

As  the  colored  child  has  been  made 
in  the  image  of  God,  her  poise  should 
be  erect  and  fearless.  Nature  bestowed 
the  gift  of  a  straight  backbone. 

The  native  African  has  always  been 
straight  like  the  pine  sapling.  In  civ- 

from  the  torrid  sun  which  kept  the  oils  and  waxes 
in  a  fluid  state  or  else  the  hair  would  have  dried  up. 
The  chemical  action  of  the  atmosphere  caused  a  shrink- 
ing into  spirals  which  further  protected  the  uncovered 
heads  from  scorching." 

Constant  care  of  the  hair  will  cause  an  improved 
condition  of  the  texture  which  will  in  time  be  in- 
herited. 


38  THE  COLORED  GIRL  BEAUTIFUL 

ilization  his  descendant  permits  his 
back  to  bend.  The  chest  caves  in, 
squeezing  the  heart,  lungs  and  liver. 
One  is  more  liable  to  pneumonia  and 
tuberculosis,  and  can  not  fight  them 
successfully  as  these  organs  have  lost 
much  of  their  vital  force  because  of 
their  cramped  conditions. 

Power  is  expressed  in  the  way  one 
carries  her  shoulders,  and  vitality  is 
measured  by  breathing  capacity. 

One  may  sin  against  God  and  be  for- 
given, but  Mother  Nature  never  for- 
gives the  sin  against  her.  Unto  the 
third  and  fourth  generation  the  pun- 
ishment goes  on  for  the  abuse  of  the 
temple  of  the  Soul. 


The  Colored  Girl  Beautiful 


Every  colored  girl  would  like  to  be 
beautiful.  The  so-called  beauty  is  but 
skin  deep.  A  burn,  a  scar,  a  disease, 
and  beauty  is  fled,  although  contour 
and  other  evidences  might  remain. 

One  can  not  remove  bad  looks  with 
soap  and  water.  Youth  should  be  and 
is  always  attractive.  It  is  after  twenty- 
five  that  one  begins  to  wish  that  she 
had  been  more  careful  in  her  youth, 
that  she  had  controlled  her  powers, 
and  that  she  had  cultivated  her  good 
points  and  removed  her  "Spots. " 

A  girl  should  study  herself,  learn  her 
powers,  and  she  will  get  the  real 
beauty  if  she  will  deliberately  and  per- 
sistently train  for  it. 

We  look  at  the  photos  of  beautiful, 

41 


42  THE  COLORED  GIRL  BEAUTIFUL 

smiling,  round-faced  children  and  then 
at  the  tired,  many-lined  unhappy  faces 
into  which  they  have  changed.  Women 
delight  in  showing  us  photos  to  prove 
how  beautiful  they  were  when  they 
were  sweet  sixteen.  As  we  look,  it  is 
hard  to  believe.  However,  the  camera, 
they  say,  always  tells  the  truth,  and 
we  have  later  evidence  before  us. 

The  inward  tools,  Thoughts,  have 
carved  the  ugly  pictures  on  faces.  Ig- 
norance is  a  terrible  curse  along  all 
lines.  Many  have  not  learned  the 
secret  of  preserving  their  bodies,  along 
with  other  studies,  yet  the  savage  na- 
tions care  for  their  bodies. 

Girls  abuse  their  bodies;  they  eat 
too  much  or  else  the  wrong  kind  of 
food,  causing  indigestion  or  other 
stomach  and  liver  troubles.  There  is 
no  room  for  the  distended  digestive 
organs  and  gorged  stomachs  and  if 
these  walls  are  stretched  too  often  they 
lose  their  elasticity  and  the  digestive 


THE  COLORED  GIRL  BEAUTIFUL  43 

juices  go  on  a  strike,  causing  erup- 
tions on  the  face  and  a  bad  complex- 
ion, besides  other  complications  which 
destroy  beauty.  Then,  too,  coarse  or 
highly  seasoned  foods  arouse  other  ap- 
petites through  the  law  of  sympathy. 

Girls  do  not  heed  the  signs  of  colds 
and  complications  peculiar  to  women. 
Operations  are  often  necessary  because 
of  exposure  and  neglect  of  colds. 
The  clothing  is  often  too  tight  and 
pressure  causes  malignant  growth  and 
great  suffering  in  after  years. 

A  girl  should  keep  her  face  as  clean 
as  a  man's  face  after  shaving,  and  her 
body  should  be  correspondingly  clean, 
that  the  gases  and  odors  may  escape, 
lest  they  take  revenge  upon  her  face. 
A  girl  should  no  more  offer  a  foul 
odor  of  body  or  mouth  or  nose,  than 
she  would  offer  poison. 

A  girl  must  study  her  body  and  pre- 
serve it  by  attending  to  colds  and  dis- 
eases in  time. 


44  THE   COLORED  GIRL  BEAUTIFUL 

One  who  desires  beauty  should  fight 
against  a  desire  for  intoxicants.  There 
is  nothing  that  coarsens  the  skin  of 
some  women  so  quickly  as  the  habit  of 
drinking  beer.  Chewing  gum  coarsens 
the  muscles  of  the  jaw  and  gives  a 
downward  trend  that  few  faces  can 
afford  to  wear. 

The  real  beauty  is  carved  from  with- 
in and  the  inward  Sculptor  is  always  at 
work.  One  may  buy  artificial  teeth, 
hair  and  limbs,  but  no  cosmetics  or 
massage  will  cover  up  the  ravages  of 
Thought.  Every  thought  leaves  its  im- 
print and  every  emotion  leaves  its 
manifestation. 

Beauty  is  not  always  a  tangible 
something.  Many  people  are  called 
beautiful  when  they  do  not  even  own 
attractive  features.  Charm  and  per- 
sonality throw  a  special  light  over  the 
features,  thus  transforming  them.  Any 
one  may  cultivate  charm  and  person- 


THE  COLORED  GIRL  BEAUTIFUL  45 

ality  if  she  has  not  been  born  with 
them. 

To  be  beautiful,  one  must  fill  her 
mind  with  beautiful  thoughts.  Impure 
thoughts,  angry  thoughts,  unhappy 
thoughts,  jealous  thoughts,  and  cow- 
ardly thoughts  will  arise,  but  they 
must  be  driven  away.  Health  suffers 
from  these  thoughts  because  they  af- 
fect sleep  and  appetite.  Lines  appear 
upon  the  face  as  an  index  of  interior 
troubles. 

One  must  not  only  be  careful  of 
thinking  detrimental  things,  but  she 
must  be  careful  of  what  she  says  to 
others,  and  of  what  she  writes  in  let- 
ters, for  writing  a  thought  intensifies 
its  influence. 

Impure  novels  often  lead  girls  astray 
or  give  them  impure  thoughts  which 
are  printed  or  published  in  their  faces. 

A  girl  should  not  affect  boldness. 
It  "sets"  the  muscles  in  the  face  and 
neck.  One  should  affect  modestv  and 


46  THE   COLORED  GIRL  BEAUTIFUL 

purity  even  if  one  does  not  feel  them, 
that  they  may  enhance  her  looks. 

Rough  uncouth  actions  and  gestures 
cause  ugly  lines  in  the  face. 

Not  only  is  the  face  the  bulletin 
board  of  habitual  thought,  but  the  body 
reflects  thought  through  gestures  and 
other  movements. 

Repose  of  manner  and  a  soft  voice 
are  two  of  the  greatest  charms  that  a 
woman  may  possess.  Restlessness  is 
not  only  a  sign  of  lost  control,  it  gives 
a  false  idea  to  passers-by.  Quietude 
gives  a  sense  of  power.  Control  is  cul- 
ture, and  culture  is  a  beauty  point. 

Some  one  has  said  that  in  the  matter 
of  first  impression,  "appearance  is  half 
and  the  voice  is  the  other  half."  "Later 
you  will  be  able  to  make  one  forget  an 
unattractive  appearance,  but  we  never 
grow  accustomed  to  a  rasping  voice." 
"Nothing  in  the  world  is  so  humiliating 
as  to  be  a  graceful  and  beautiful 
woman  with  a  bad  voice." 


THE   COLORED  GIRL  BEAUTIFUL  47 

Talkativeness  is  another  "Spot,"  and 
a  sign  of  lost  control.  In  public  places, 
especially,  it  is  a  sign  of  ill  breeding 
and  L:.d  ;.';ste.  Good  breeding  should 
always  keep  a  woman  from  loud  talk. 
We  must  remove  the  stigma  of  loud- 
ness  and  coarseness  that  now  rests  up- 
on the  race.  The  less  a  person  knows, 
the  bigger  noise  she  generally  makes. 
The  big  touring  car  never  makes  the 
noise  that  a  motor  cycle  does,  nor  does 
a  great  steamer  make  the  fuss  that  a 
tug  boat  does.  The  deep  stream  is 
silent  while  the  little  brook  babbles. 

It  is  exceedingly  vulgar  to  air  one's 
opinions  in  street  cars,  railroad  cars,  or 
in  any  public  place,  A  person  who 
really  knows  anything  does  not  parade 
his  knowledge  or  his  opinions. 

While  emotional  people  are  generally 
attractive,  yet  the  habit  of  the  expres- 
sion of  the  emotions  could  be  turned  to 
better  account. 

Lost   Motion  and  Lost  Emotion  are 


48  THE   COLORED  GIRL  BEAUTIFUL 

the  two  great  ''wastes"  of  the  race. 

One  not  only  enhances  her  beauty 
but  one  is  really  a  Somebody  or  a  No- 
body according*  to  the  control  she  has 
over  her  mind  and  body.  She  must 
control  her  emotions  as  she  does  her 
appetite.  Excessive  emotion  debilitates 
the  system.  Anger  is  poison  to  a 
woman's  system.  It  causes  a  chemical 
action  which  upsets  the  stomach.  The 
bite  of  an  angry  person  is  sometimes 
poisonous,  because  of  this  chemical 
change.  A  fit  of  anger  may  upset  the 
whole  digestive  system,  and  may  even 
cause  death  because  blood  is  taken 
from  the  digestive  system  and  many 
bodily  functions  cease.  Any  emotion 
causes  the  heart  to  beat  faster. 

There  is  health  as  well  as  beauty  in 
self  control.  Culture  is  self  control. 
The  Colored  Girl  Beautiful  should  cul- 
tivate reposefulness.  A  display  of  emo- 
tion or  restlessness  indicates  lost  con- 
trol. 


THE   COLORED  GIRL  BEAUTIFUL  49 

There  are  only  two  classes  of  people 
who  are  excusable  for  disturbing  large 
quantities  of  air  in  their  movements. 
These  arc  babies  and  lunatics,  because 
neither  have  brain  development  nor 
mental  control. 

The  colored  girl  beautiful  must  learn 
to  sit  still.  She  must  learn  to  be 
methodical  in  order  to  have  resting 
periods.  She  needs  a  few  minutes 
each  day  for  relaxation  and  repose.  If 
she  has  not  learned  to  relax,  she  sh'ould 
change  her  occupation  at  different 
periods  of  the  day.  She  must  train 
herself  not  to  get  excited.  She  must 
not  quarrel  or  argue.  She  must  train 
herself  to  be  temper-immune,  and  not 
to  permit  others  to  upset  her  equilib- 
rium. 

A  real  lady  never  gets  visibly  angry. 
Anger  drives  away  friends  wrho  really 
help  to  make  us  beautiful  by  giving 
us  pleasant  sensations. 

One    should    be    eternally    feminine. 


50  THE  COLORED  GIRL  BEAUTIFUL 

One  should  not  attempt  athletics  un- 
less she  is  sure  that  her  physique  will 
endure  this.  A  strain  may  wreck  one's 
health  and  looks.  Most  women  are 
built  like  watches — one  thing  wrong 
upsets  the  whole  mechanism. 

Observing  the  small  courtesies  in 
life  makes  one  charming.  Knowledge  of 
the  various  forms  of  society  etiquette 
has  made  many  women  popular  and 
has  placed  them  in  an  enviable  social 
position.  Real  politeness  comes  from 
a  kind  heart,  from  good  impulses  and 
it  ranks  as  a  strong  beauty  point  be- 
cause it  illumines  the  face. 

If  one  is  obliged  to  work  out  for  a 
living  she  must  remember  that  habit 
affects  looks.  If  one  is  energetic  and 
happy  the  face  will  reflect  the  content. 
If  one  shirks  her  duty  and  hates  her 
work,  her  face  will  reflect  discontent; 
her  vital  organs  will  weigh  downward 
and  affect  her  health,  and  her  looks  will 
suffer.  One  must  affect  enthusiasm  in 


THE  COLORED  GIRL  BEAUTIFUL  51 

her  work  to  stimulate  the  vital  organs. 

So  the  real  beauty  is  carved  from 
within  and  the  inward  Sculptor  is  al- 
ways at  work.  A  girl  is  her  own 
beauty  doctor  and  can  work  out  her 
own  beauty  destiny.  She  may  have 
everything  in  life  that  she  wills,  if  she 
will  only  guide  this  inner  workman. 

A  girl  who  lives  in  the  back  woods 
may  make  herself  so  choice  and  beauti- 
ful in  the  indescribable  way,  that  her 
fame  will  spread  miles  away.  She 
should  bide  her  time,  stay  to  herself 
until  she  has  fully  improved  herself, 
mind  and  body,  and  she  will  reap  her 
full  reward. 


Law  of  Attraction — Vibrations. 


Every  one  of  us  has  a  magnet  within 
which  attracts  others  for  good  or  evil, 
and  which  is  attracted  by  good  or  evil. 
The  old  philosophers  have  given  us 
many  proverbs  to  bear  out  this  truth. 
We  have  the  saying,  "Birds  of  a  feather 
flock  together." 

The  law  of  vibrations  was  studied 
centuries  ago  by  the  old  wise  men. 

One  attracts  the  kind  of  vibrations 
that  one  sends  out.  The  Bible  also 
has  given  us  many  commandments  and 
injunctions  to  protect  us  from  our- 
selves. We  are  told  that  one  must 
love  if  one  would  be  loved ;  "to  cast  thy 
bread  upon  the  waters  and  it  shall  re- 
turn to  you/'  "as  ye  sow,  so  shall  ye 
reap." 

55 


56  THE  COLORED  GIRL  BEAUTIFUL 

Whatever  is  projected  returns  sooner 
or  later.  One  may  not  even  send  an 
evil  thought  as  in  an  anonymous  let- 
ter, valentine,  or  register  an  unexpressed 
wish  without  making  herself  liable  to 
self  punishment. 

One's  personality  and  thoughts, 
either  good  or  evil,  always  surround 
her,  "like  a  contagious  cloud/'  A 
strong  personality  will  influence  a 
weaker  personality  just  as  a  magnet 
attracts.  Many  are  influenced  because 
they  vibrate  similarly  and  many  are  in- 
fluenced because  they  are  attractable 
or  weak. 

Revivals,  riots,  political  agitations 
and  race  prejudices  are  all  evidences 
of  the  power  of  strong  projections  of 
thought.  Race  prejudice  is  the  result 
of  the  vibrations  of  hate  and  anger  sent 
out  by  strong  minds.  The  world  is 
what  one  makes  it  by  the  projection  of 
one's  thought.  The  magnetic,  ener- 
getic, hearty  person  brings  things 


THE  COLORED  GIRL  BEAUTIFUL  57 

about  because  he  projects  a  stronger 
vibration  of  thought,  will  power  and 
personality,  whether  in  a  hearty  hand 
shake,  sunny  smile  or  display  of  in- 
terest. 

By  helping  others  we  help  ourselves. 
We  must  learn  to  give,  give,  give,  in 
order  to  receive. 

The  sporting  element  and  the  under 
world  recognize  and  fear  the  laws  of 
vibrations.  They  know  nothing  of  the 
laws  but  they  have  instinctive  recogni- 
tion of  some  force,  which  returns  the 
act.  They  give  because  they  desire 
luck.  One  may  always  receive  help 
from  them  because  they  are  afraid  to  re- 
fuse aid. 

Washington  Irving  has  said,  "Happi- 
ness is  a  reflection/'  ''Everybody's 
countenance  is  a  mirror  transmitting 
to  others,  its  rays."  If  one  makes  a 
habit  of  sending  out  happy,  loving 
thoughts,  the  face  reflects  the  thought 
and  gains  in  charm  and  beauty. 


58  THE  COLORED  GIRL  BEAUTIFUL  ] 

We  must  teach  our  minds  to  act  up- 
on the  minds  of  others.  We  must  learn 
the  laws  and  obey  them,  that  we  may 
send  out  strong  thoughts  of  peace  and 
love  to  counteract  the  overwhelming 
tide  of  thought  against  us. 


Love. 


There  are  many  kinds  of  love.  There 
is  filial  love,  platonic  love,  the  love 
leading  to  marriage,  and  the  greatest 
love  of  all,  mother  love.  Too  many 
desecrate  love  by  regarding  it  as  a 
pastime,  or  selling  all  that  passes  for 
it,  for  favors,  attentions  and  support. 

What  is  love?  Many  definitions 
could  be  given  but  the  best  answer  is, 
"Love  is  the  habit  of  giving  the  best 
in  us.'"  Some  one  has  said  that  "Love 
is  the  easiest  thing  to  make  and  the 
hardest  to  keep." 

So  much  of  the  life  force  is  wasted 
because  people  imagine  they  are  in 
love. 

Sornehowr,  girls  are  given  to  "falling 
in  love,'-  first  with  one  man,  then 

61 


62  THE  COLORED  GIRL  BEAUTIFUL 

with  another.  With  each  man  there  is 
the  feminine  desire  to  reciprocate  in 
full  measure  for  various  courtesies. 

What  is  the  result? 

The  vital  forces  are  willfully  wasted. 

Beauty  needs  powerful  stimulants. 
No  one  could  expect  a  tree  to  blossom 
into  a  beautiful  mature  form  if  the  sap 
were  withdrawn.  Youth  is  the  green 
apple  period.  One  can  never  tell  how 
a  little  green  apple  may  develop.  It 
may  become  full  blown  and  rosy 
cheeked,  or  it  may  become  worm  eaten 
and  cankered. 

Girls  permit  boys  and  men  to  kiss 
and  fondle  them  (as  one  woman  has 
said,  "to  paw  and  claw  them")  and  in 
turn  they  exert  themselves  to  live  up 
to  what  they  imagine  is  expected  of 
them,  believing  it  to  be  a  fair  exchange 
for  gifts  and  attention. 

When  hypnotists  desire  to  take  the 
will  power  from  their  subjects  they 
use  their  hands  in  strokings. 


THE  COLORED  GIRL  BEAUTIFUL  63 

Girls  should  not  permit  young  men 
to  caress  them,  to  hold  their  hands,  or 
to  stroke  their  bodies.  It  is  very  weak- 
ening, it  causes  a  girl  to  yield  to 
temptation  because  it  induces  passive- 
ness  to  the  will  of  the  projector. 

There  is  no  present  which  a  boy  or 
man  could  give  to  a  girl  which  is  worth 
the  tiniest  atom  of  this  precious  in- 
visible life  current.  In  after  life  she 
realizes  her  folly,  but  it  is  then  too  late 
to  remedy  it. 

Often  a  perfectly  pure  minded  girl  in 
her  youth  wastes  her  life  forces  with 
one  beau  after  another,  innocently 
imagining  it  to  be  her  duty  because  of 
the  attentions  that  she  receives.  When 
she  marries  the  "man  among  men  to 
her,"  she  finds  that  she  can  not  hold 
his  affections  because  of  this  waste, 
and  often  she  sees  another  woman  get 
the  love  that  is  her  due,  as  a  wife.  At 
the  time  of  life  when  maturity  should 
give  a  full  blown  rose  of  a  woman,  she 


64  THE   COLORED  GIRL  BEAUTIFUL 

has  dribbled  out  because  she  has  been 
too  ardent.  She  is  worm  eaten  and 
cankered  because  she  has  devastated  na- 
ture, and  it  is  all  her  own  fault. 

It  is  a  debatable  question  whether  a 
girl  who  has  kissed  many  men,  and  has 
thus  wasted  her  vital  forces  would  be 
a  fit  candidate  for  Motherhood,  and,  on 
the  other  hand  whether  a  boy  or  man 
who  steals  the  life  forces  from  our 
girls  is  fit  to  be  a  father.  A  man  has 
no  more  right  to  steal  this  precious 
beauty  stimulant  from  a  girl  than  he 
has  to  steal  her  clothes. 

Every  man  knows  that  if  the  girl  he 
escorts  around  will  kiss  him,  that  she 
has  kissed  the  one  who  preceded  him 
;md  will  kiss  the  one  who  follows  him. 
It  is  no  wonder  that  many  men  marry 
girls  who  have  not  seemed  so  pro- 
miscuous. Man}-  a  good  girl  has  been 
passed  or  misunderstood. 

Colored  girls  should  never  sell  their 
bodies  and  they  should  set  a  higher 


THE  COLORED  GIRL  BEAUTIFUL  65 

value  upon  their  bodies  in  every  way. 
Especially  should  they  be  known  as 
"Ham's  off"  girls. 

No  one  would  think  of  handling  a  rare 
flower  and  expect  it  to  endure.  The 
virgin  soul  is  always  likened  to  a 
flower. 

If  a  young  man  after  a  few  calls 
thinks  that  he  is  entitled  to  a  good- 
night kiss  he  should  be  speedily  set 
right. 

Any  emotion  or  feeling  diffusing  the 
body  has  an  effect  upon  health  and 
upon  beauty.  An  organ  may  become 
exhausted  from  the  rush  of  blood 
caused  by  an  impure  thought. 

Kissing  excites  passions  until  they 
become  uncontrollable. 

A  girl  must  cultivate  her  will  power 
along  with  charm  and  personal  mag- 
netism in  order  to  become  a  beautiful 
woman.  She  must  resist  the  tempta- 
tion to  scatter  her  vital  forces,  so  that 
when  she  marries  she  may  hold  all  of 


66  THE   COLORED  GIRL  BEAUTIFUL 

her  powers  for  the  man  she  desires  to 
hold.  She  should  patiently  wait  for 
her  "prince"  and  aim  to  give  him  un- 
kissed  lips,  and  virginity  of  mind  as 
well  as  of  body.  It  will  be  a  tremen- 
dous satisfaction  in  fulfilling  the  defini- 
tion of  Love  and  Motherhood,  besides 
giving  the  real  beauty. 

When  boys  and  men  desire  caresses 
and  kisses,  a  girl  should  send  a  mes- 
sage to  her  Solar  Plexus — her  reflex 
nerve — to  help  her  to  say,  "No."  She 
should  let  no  present  tempt  her  to  be 
fleeced  of  her  beauty  food. 

In  order  to  resist  temptation,  girls 
should  be  taught  deep  breathing,  that 
the  diaphragm  and  educated  nerves 
may  obey  emergency  orders.  The 
practice  of  deep  breathing  is  invaluable 
in  the  matter  of  resistance,  and  wTill 
back  up  the  "I  wont",  I  won't",  I 
won't",  "Hands  off",  "Hands  off".  A 
girl  must  hold  her  fists  tightly  and  re- 
sist. 


THE  COLORED  GIRL  BEAUTIFUL  67 

She  must  psychologize  the  mind  with 
thoughts  of  resistance  by  practicing 
simple  breathing  movements,  so  that 
when  temptation  is  imminent  the  hold- 
ing of  a  deep  breath  will  be  her  salva- 
tion. The  action  of  her  diaphragm  and 
Solar  Plexus  will  prevent  any  waver- 
ing. 

To  cultivate  and  hold  vital  strength, 
one  must  hoard  every  atom  of  vital 
strength.  One  may  not  even  afford 
to  write  love  letters  in  too  warm  a 
strain.  One  will  not  only  be  ashamed 
in  after  years  when  this  particular 
fever  has  worn  itself  out,  but  one  will 
then  be  conscious  of  wasted  vital 
strength. 

Beauty  is  so  dependent  upon  vital 
strength  that  every  atom  of  vital  force 
is  needed  and  none  must  be  wasted. 


Personal  Appearance. 


Trifles  show  up  the  real  character 
more  than  anything  else,  in  clothes,  or 
the  care  of  the  hair,  teeth  or  finger 
nails.  Personal  appearance  is  one  of 
the  strongest  factors  in  the  beauty 
combination.  After  health,  voice,  and 
poise  conies  the  value  of  dress  as  a 
beauty  accessory.  Dress  has  much  to 
do  with  a  man's  classification  of  fem- 
inine beauty  although  he  may  not  be 
dress  informed.  Many  French  women 
are  considered  beautiful  because  of 
charming  dress  accessories,  which  are 
generally  immaculate  and  in  harmony. 
A  modest  girl  dresses  modestly;  a  sen- 
sible person  makes  her  clothes  fit  her 
person,  her  height,  head,  back  view,  side 
view,  ankles  and  heels.  A  woman's 
dress  soon  tells  the  character  of  the 

71 


72  THE  COLORED  GIRL  BEAUTIFUL 

wearer  and  betrays  immorality.     Even 
colors  talk. 

With  many  people,  finery  seems  to 
mean  good  dressing,  yet  their  clothes 
jar,  cry  out,  even  "scream  out  their  un- 
fitness  and  unwholesomeness,  and  be- 
tray their  dishonesty,  shame  and  sac- 
rifice." Clothes  show  silliness,  con- 
ceit, and  selfishness  more  than  any 
other  thing,  and  often  they  shame  a 
home,  so  a  colored  girl  should  study 
her  individuality  and  her  life  position 
and  dress  accordingly.  She  should 
wear  only  becoming  colors,  and  she 
might  affect  a  certain  color  to  her  ad- 
vantage. She  should  "cling"  to  what 
is  becoming  rather  than  follow  exag- 
gerated fashions.  The  exclusive  dress- 
ers in  high  society  study  to  get  simple 
lines;  with  them  severity  in  line  is  ele- 
gance. Such  clothes  wear  several  sea- 
sons. No  one  minds  wearing  a  becoming 
style  a  long  time.  Few  colored  women 
can  afford  to  keep  up  the  pace  of  styles. 


THE  COLORED  GIRL  BEAUTIFUL  73 

There  are  women  who  live  to  dress 
no  matter  what  the  cost  may  be  but 
they  are  not  to  be  envied  for  this 
slavish  passion. 

A  man  wears  a  good  suit  several 
years  and  looks  well.  Colored  women 
could  plan  their  costumes  that  they 
might  at  least  last  two  seasons.  They 
should  study  to  make  the  most  of  what 
they  have  on  hand. 

One  good  black  dress  still  remains 
an  asset  to  a  wardrobe  and  most  col- 
ored women  look  well  in  black  especial- 
ly if  it  is  relieved  by  a  becoming  color. 

In  France  only  the  "Boulevard" 
women  and  actresses  wear  the  exag- 
gerated styles  that  we  see  in  the 
French  fashion  journals. 

The  Colored  Girl  Beautiful  will  take 
care  of  her  clothes.  She  will  learn  to 
press  and  sponge,  also  the  use  of  clean- 
ing fluids,  and  to  forbear  from  sitting 
carelessly  on  coats  and  other  apparel. 

Work  clothes  should  be  becoming  in 


74  THE  COLORED  GIRL  BEAUTIFUL 

color  and  style.  While  one  is  buying 
or  making  she  may  as  well  select  at- 
tractive models.  When  one  is  attired 
in  unbecoming  clothes,  unconsciously 
the  face  reflects  the  thought  in  unbe- 
coming lines.  One's  voice  takes  on  a 
coarser,  unbecoming  tone,  and  the 
poise  takes  on  an  unbecoming  attitude. 
For  the  same  reason  our  girls  should 
not  wear  men's  old  hats  or  paper  bags 
on  their  heads. 

One  should  aim  to  select  something 
becoming  that  the  face  and  body  may 
always  appear  at  their  best.  One  must 
be  on  beauty  parade  ALL  the  time  to 
get  beauty  lines. 

Appropriate  clothes  should  be  worn 
at  all  times.  Pink  or  blue  satin  or  silk 
dresses  should  not  be  worn  on  Sunday  or 
at  church,  even  if  one  can  afford  them. 
It  is  bad  taste  and  sets  a  bad  example 
to  poorer  girls  who  sometimes  sell  their 
honor,  even  their  lives  for  these  perish- 
able, inappropriate  costumes. 


THE   COLORED  GIRL  BEAUTIFUL  75 

Tn  every  mind  there  is  a  picture  gal- 
lery of  our  friends  and  the  people  we 
meet.  Sometimes  the  pictures  that  we 
carry  are  not  the  best  ones.  One  is 
often  caught  unawares  in  soiled,  unbe- 
coming garments.  It  is  not  necessary 
in  this  day  and  time  to  give  an  ugly 
picture  of  ourselves. 

We  should  be  particular  to  give  the 
best  possible,  most  pleasing  picture  to 
others  at  all  times.  There  should  be  no 
"being  caught.'1  One  should  be  prepared 
early  in  the  morning,  any  time  of  da\, 
and  all  through  the  night. 

On  the  streets  and  as  the  street  cars 
pass  our  homes,  colored  people  should 
give  the  best  pictures  possible  of  them- 
selves, if  they  can  not  of  the  houses  in 
which  they  live.  We  are  a  poor  people 
but  we  can  be  quiet,  clean,  becomingly 
and  fittingly  dressed.  We  must  stifle 
the  desire  to  be  conspicuous  unless  it 
is  to  be  conspicuous  by  quietness. 


Deep  Breathing. 


The  Greeks  are  quoted  as  saying,  "A 
healthy  soul  can  only  live  in  a  healthy 
body."  People  are  beginning  to  see 
that  to  a  great  extent,  intellectual  vigor 
depends  upon  physical  vigor. 

Man  is  an  air  breathing  animal. 

Air  is  life.  One  may  go  without 
food  and  water  for  days  but  not  many 
minutes  without  air. 

Air  is  the  most  important  factor  in 
generating  vital  force  and  it  is  the  best 
tonic  in  the  world. 

A  large,  deep,  chest  indicates  Health, 
Strength  and  Vitality.  The  size  of  the 
chest  indicates  the  size  of  the  lungs. 
A  narrow  chest  indicates  cramped 
lungs,  heart,  digestive  organs  and  a 
small  diaphragm. 

79 


80  THE  COLORED  GIRL  BEAUTIFUL 

The  diaphragm  is  the  dome  shaped 
breathing  muscle  which  serves  as  a  par- 
tition between  the  chest  and  abdominal 
organs.  Its  contraction  causes  develop- 
ment of  the  lungs  and  heart  and  at  the 
same  time  the  internal  massage  of  the 
abdominal  organs. 

The  lungs  have  been  called  the  scav- 
engers of  the  body  for  they  take  off 
poison  which  would  kill  us. 

As  the  blood  stores  oxygen  especial- 
ly at  night,  windows  should  be  kept 
open  to  prepare  the  body  for  the  next 
day's  duties. 

"Exercise  is  the  elixir  of  youth/' 

Many  people  do  not  exert  themselves 
enough  to  open  the  millions  of  little 
lung  cells.  Mother  Nature  demands  a 
heavy  price  for  this  neglect  of  her  laws. 

The  heart  is  now  recognized  as  a 
muscle  which  needs  muscular  exercise 
as  other  muscles  need  exercise. 

The  heart  is  very  wonderful.  Al- 
though it  weighs  only  about  eleven 


THE  COLORED  GIRL  BEAUTIFUL  81 

ounces  it  has  each  day  a  lifting 
strength  of  120  tons  to  the  height  of  a 
foot.  With  seventy  beats  of  a  pulse 
a  minute,  six  ounces  of  blood  are 
forced  into  arteries  seventy  times  a 
minute  or  lS7l/2  gallons  every  hour. 
This  could  fill  a  lake  or  pond  in  a  life 
time. 

Deep  breathing  is  the  fundamental 
foundation  of  Physical  Culture,  of 
Singing  and  of  Oratory.  This  is  why 
these  studies  are  recommended  to  les- 
sen the  susceptibility  to  disease  es- 
pecially tuberculosis  and  other  lung 
diseases. 

Deep  breathing  cures  nervousness 
and  many  chronic  complaints  because 
it  improves  the  circulation  of  the  blood 
and  causes  internal  massage  especially 
of  the  abdominal  organs. 

Deep  breathers  are  seldom  mentally 
weak  because  deep  breathing  develops 
Will  power.  Its  study  causes  pride  in 
one's  body  and  its  physical  gifts  be- 


82  THE  COLORED  GIRL  BEAUTIFUL 

cause  it  teaches  the  values  and  beauties 
of  different  parts  of  the  body. 

The  habit  of  deep  breathing  culti- 
vates Personality  and  Personal  Mag- 
netism and  thus  makes  one  attractive. 
A  great  deal  of  the  success  in  life 
comes  from  winning  people  through 
Personal  Magnetism. 


Originality. 


A  woman's  mind  should  always  be 
filled  with  a  life  plan,  else  she  is  in 
danger.  A  busy  woman  is  generally  a 
safe  woman.  She  must  find  her  life 
work  and  keep  busy.  Even  a  hobby  is 
better  than  nothing  if  time  hangs  on 
her  hands.  She  should  do  something 
with  all  her  might  and  not  delay,  for 
Time  is  flying. 

A  colored  woman  especially  should 
have  some  purpose  in  life  to  further 
race  advancement.  It  should  not  only 
be  a  high  purpose  but  it  should  be 
something  real. 

To  be  enthusiastic  about  something 
is  beautifying  because  it  stimulates  the 
circulation  of  the  blood.  Any  kind  of 
success  comes  from  enthusiasm. 

No  matter  how  poor  a  woman  may 

85 


86  THE  COLORED  GIRL  BEAUTIFUL 

be  she  may  be  original  in  her  ideas. 
At  first,  of  course,  she  must  use  the 
ideas  of  others,  until  she  can  show  her 
cleverness  through  her  adaptations, 
and  employing  her  powers  and  gifts 
will  add  until  larger  powers  and  gifts 
result. 

She  must  try  to  get  a  new  line  of 
work  for  race  advancement  and  dedi- 
cate herself  to  it.  If  she  eliminates  the 
Ego  (Self)  and  will  aim  to  work  for 
the  good  of  others,  she  will  succeed. 

Each  one  should  find  a  realm,  some- 
thing in  which  she  shall  be  supreme, 
and  be  first.  "It  is  better  to  be  first 
in  an  Iberian  village  than  second  in 
Rome/'  The  race  needs  daring  orig- 
inal people,  to  think  and  speak. 

Emerson  says,  "Every  man  has  a  call 
to  do  something  unique." 

The  person  who  thinks  up  new  lines 
of  study,  thought  and  ideas  for  the 
race,  enlarging  its  vision  and  enrich- 


THE  COLORED  GIRL  BEAUTIFUL  87 

ing  its  mind  is  a  race  benefactor. 
Rnskin's  creed  of  work  should  be  the 
universal  creed.  "The  man  or  woman 
who  does  work  worth  doing  is  the  man 
or  woman  who  lives  and  breathes 
his  work;  with  whom  it  is  ever  pres- 
ent in  his  or  her  soul;  whose  ambition 
is  to  do  it  well  and  feel  rewarded  by 
the  thought  of  having  done  it  well. 
That  man,  that  woman,  puts  the  whole 
country  under  an  obligation/' 

Colored  women  have  a  genius  for 
leadership.  There  is  great  executive 
force  in  them.  Many  a  colored  woman 
is  an  undeveloped  genius  waiting  for 
opportunity.  One  should  try  avenue 
after  avenue  until  the  right  one  opens, 
for  her  life  work. 

In  spite  of  criticism  she  must  fight 
on,  alone  if  necessary,  "With  God,  one 
is  a  majority,"  said  Frederick  Doug- 
lass. 

if  one  can  not  be  a  genius  or  be  orig- 
inal, she  may  do  anything  near  at  hand. 


88  THE   COLORED  GIRL  BEAUTIFUL 

She  should  find  something  to  do  so  that 
she  will  have  something-  to  talk  about 
besides  herself  and  her  friends. 

One  might  take  up  the  study  of 
music,  voice  culture,  elocution,  art,  em- 
broidery or  housekeeping  (domestic 
science)  and  pass  it  along  to  others. 

The  surest  way  to  make  people  "take 
notice  of  one"  is  to  work  for  others. 
One  may  also  live  in  peoples'  hearts  as 
well  as  their  minds,  if  she  will  ally  her- 
self with  a  good  humanitarian  cause. 

If  one  is  not  what  is  termed  re- 
ligious, or  is  lacking  in  religious  feel- 
ing, she  should  at  least  conceal  this 
serious  void  by  showing  respect  for  re- 
ligion in  no  unmistakable  terms  for  the 
sake  of  example.  One  should  always 
hold  up  Christian  ideals  even  though 
she  may  not  be  a  spiritual  woman 
or  be  called  an  earthly  saint.  She  can 
hold  up  for  a  more  rigid  moral  code 
and  the  highest  thought  in  ethics. 

It  pays  to  be  respected,  but  after  one 


THE  COLORED  GIRL  BEAUTIFUL  89 

has  trusted  and  has  been  disappointed, 
deceived,  and  betrayed,  she  will  find 
that  it  pays  best  to  keep  close  to  the 
"Cross"  where  that  "One  always  listens 
and  understands."  One  should  not  get 
too  far  away  from  "It"  because  one  is 
certain  to  return  sooner  or  later. 

The  best  representative  people  go  to 
church  if  only  for  example's  sake. 
Even  if  one  were  not  extremely  re- 
ligious she  could  be  an  authority  on* 
religions,  reading  up  the  history  of 
other  churches  as  well  as  one's  own 
church  discipline.  One  might  originate 
prayers  or  "graces"  for  the  table  and 
sell  printed  copies  for  a  local  charity. 

Any  woman  should  be  proud  to  es- 
pouse the  cause  of  children  and  their 
broader  education,  as  well  as  their 
health  and  happiness.  One  might  try 
to  bring  a  musical  artist  or  lecturer  to 
them  every  two  or  three  years. 

Every  day  of  one's  life  there  is  an 
opportunity  to  make  some  one  happy, 


90  THE  COLORED  GIRL  BEAUTIFUL 

One  might  amuse  herself  by  keeping  a 
diary  of  her  efforts  along-  this  line. 

Speech  is  a  cultivated  talent.  One 
might  study  to  be  good  company,  not 
to  be  funny  or  witty,  but  she  might 
study  the  art  of  expressing  herself;  not 
to  air  her  knowledge,  that  would  be 
vulgar,  but  to  store  her  memory  with 
a  fund  of  information  concerning  the 
great  paintings  and  works  of  art,  and 
lives  of  great  composers. 

One  might  even  be  an  authority  on 
economy  and  demonstrate  how7  to  make 
over  dresses,  hats,  etc. 

One  could  economize  on  her  ward- 
robe and  travel  on  the  savings  giving 
little  "Travelogues"  to  those  less  for- 
tunate. There  is  an  indescribable  joy 
and  satisfaction  in  serving  others,  even 
though  the  recipients  are  not  grateful. 
It  gives  one  a  sense  of  power  and 
wealth. 

One  might  even  cultivate  her  sensi- 
bilities and  increase  her  knowledge  of 


THE  COLORED  GIRL  BEAUTIFUL  91 

the  beautiful  in  Nature  and  Art,  to  carry 
young  folks  upon  little  Nature  and  Art 
expeditions  to  the  country  or  to  muse- 
ums. Permission  might  be  granted  to 
enter  many  closed  doors.  The  word 
children  is  often  an  open  sesame. 

Tf  one  is  tied  down  to  life  work  in- 
side her  home,  she  may  manufacture 
smiles  and  cultivate  a  beautiful  speak- 
ing voice.  It  is  a  pleasant  occupation 
to  bring  smiles  to  the  faces  of  other?. 
It  is  rather  fascinating  to  try  to  change 
the  expression  of  other  people's  faces 
by  exaggerating  the  happy  timbre  in 
one's  voice.  Even  if  one  may  not  do 
big  things  she  may  charge  the  atmos- 
phere with  smiles. 

When  I  was  a  girl,  an  old  friend 
used  to  say  to  me,  "Never  let  people 
down  you,  always  come  up  smiling." 
One  may  come  up  from  troubles  and 
bitterness  writh  a  forced  smile  until  the 
smiling  muscles  act  for  themselves, 
automatically.. 


92  THE  COLORED  GIRL  BEAUTIFUL 

One  may  also  cultivate  good  man- 
ners until  she  wins  a  wide  reputation 
for  real  ladyship,  and  thus  be  an  ex- 
ample. Only  the  uncertain  are  im- 
polite; fear  is  their  ruler.  Those  who 
own  strength  and  power  are  always 
those  who  are  gentle  because  they  are 
sure  of  their  life  position.  Real  polite- 
ness is  only  an  outward  expression  of 
the  generous  impulses  of  the  heart ;  it 
is  inborn.  Politeness  may  be  cultivated 
until  it  passes  for  the  real  thing. 

Originality  does  not  include  exclu- 
siveness.  Exclusiveness  is  deadly  to 
originality.  The  exclusive  woman  is 
seldom  of  service  to  the  race,  and  she 
is  not  always  a  congenial  or  an  agree- 
able person.  She  may  live  so  much  to 
herself  that  she  is  uninteresting  as  well 
as  selfish.  She  touches  nothing  vital 
excepting  books  and  has  nothing  else 
to  talk  about. 

One  should  train  herself  to  make  a 
perfect  social  circle  as  far  as  she  is  able. 


THE  COLORED  GIRL  BEAUTIFUL  93 

The  display  of  wealth  is  never  orig- 
inal— only  vulgar — and  only  an  inborn 
vulgar  woman  would  place  her  so 
called  friends  at  a  disadvantage  by  en- 
tertaining them  beyond  their  power  of 
return. 

It  is  pathetic  to  watch  the  social  ef- 
forts— "climbing" — of  people  with  only 
money  "Sans"  brains  and  originality. 


Youth  and  Maturity. 


The  two  attractive  periods  in  a 
woman's  life  are  girlhood  and  matur- 
ity. If  girlhood  is  not  sufficiently  at- 
tractive a  girl  may  go  into  beauty 
training  for  maturity. 

Many  women  who  perservere  in 
right  thinking  and  right  actions  have 
three  stages  of  attractiveness,  youth, 
maturity,  and  old  age. 

A  face  that  reflects  nothing  is  seldom 
beautiful. 

To  be  beautiful  one  must  think  more, 
love  more,  in  the  right  way,  and  give 
more  in  the  right  way. 

A  girl  should  not  try  to  get  old  and 
look  old,  for  age  comes  to  her  soon 
enough.  Girlhood  comes  but  once  in 
a  lifetime.  One  must  keep  young  by 

97 


98  THE   COLORED  GIRL  BEAUTIFUL 

being  young  and  "thinking  young." 
One  must  never  let  tiredness  leave  its 
mark  either  in  the  face  or  poise.  Tired- 
ness has  never  attracted  and  when  peo- 
ple say  that  one  looks  tired,  it  is  time 
to  smile  and  deny  it,  for  the  "Spot"  is 
beginning  to  take  form.  The  body 
should  never  be  permitted  to  settle.  In 
Cuba,  the  women  have  enormous  hips 
because  they  sit  so  much  and  are  in- 
active. 

Each  muscular  movement  should  re- 
flect health  and  youth  until  one  feels 
hardy  and  young.  One  should  breathe 
all  the  fresh  air  that  she  can  consume. 
Breathing  is  a  vital  force  which  sends 
blood  to  fill  out  wrinkles  and  eradicate 
blemishes  and  spots. 

The  fair,  fat,  and  forty  age  is  no 
longer  dreaded.  Like  Lillian  Russell, 
women  are  learning  to  keep  the  face 
youthful  by  keeping  the  illusion  of 
youth  and  the  belief  that  she  is  youth- 
ful. If  we  feel  young  we  look  young. 


Self  Control. 


"Will  Power  is  the  rudder  of  the  ship 
of  life." 

A  woman's  life  is  about  what  she 
makes  it.  She  is  her  own  Fate.  The 
lawr  that  governs  one,  governs  all  hu- 
manity, because  the  laws  of  thought 
are  the  laws  of  the  universe.  The  mind 
and  body  are  co-workers.  "As  a  man 
thinks,  so  is  he."  Great  men  are  those 
who  see  to  it  that  the  mental  force  is 
stronger  than  the  material,  and  who 
"Will"  that  thought  shall  rule  their 
world. 

Every     thought     stimulates     certain 
brain   cells,  and   exercises  some  nerve, 
tissue  or  muscle.     Man's  superiority  to 
animal  is  due  to  this  mental  action. 
Actions    speak    louder    than    words. 
101 


102  THE  COLORED  GIRL  BEAUTIFUL 

They  are  published  thoughts.  Every 
movement  of  every  portion  of  the  body 
has  significance.  Picking  up  a  glass, 
a  cup,  or  tools  and  other  habits  reflect 
the  mind  and  its  superiority  to  the 
physical.  There  is  no  surer  way  to 
judge  people. 

Every  face  tells  a  tale  and  we  read 
character  from  the  physical  form — the 
head,  the  backbone,  the  eye,  the  mouth, 
the  chin,  or  hand.  The  uplifted  eye, 
the  corners  of  the  mouth,  the  manner 
in  which  one  eats  or  stands,  in  fact 
every  movement  has  a  special  mean- 
ing, which  may  be  easily  read. 

The  body  is  like  a  camera,  it  tells 
the  truth ;  it  is  the  outward  sign  of  in- 
ward grace,  or  vice  versa. 

Some  one  has  said  "Women's  char- 
acters are  writ  large  on  their  faces  and 
God  writes  a  perfectly  plain  hand." 
Because  women  are  more  emotional 
than  men  and  because  the)7  often  in- 
dulge themselves  in  emotions,  the  signs 


THE  COLORED  GIRL  BEAUTIFUL  103 

are  frequently  very  evident.  If  we  study 
these  signs  when  we  meet  others  we 
may  "size  them  up,"  and  almost  know 
what  is  passing  through  their  minds. 
Because  of  sexual  magnetism  men 
read  women  more  easily  than  they  read 
men. 

Mental  habits  soon  become  reflective 
or  automatic.  In  order  to  read  others 
we  must  study  ourselves,  discover  our 
habits  and  tendencies  and  trace  them 
to  their  source  for  correction. 

The  time  has  arrived  for  new 
thoughts,  new  studies,  and  new  habits. 
Colored  women  must  be  led  along  the 
new  lines  of  thinking.  Although  many 
have  seemed  stupid  about  some  of  the 
abstract  studies,  they  have  native  pow- 
ers that  have  too  long  lain  dormant. 

Many  are  permitting  their  forces  to 
go  to  waste  instead  of  controlling 
them.  They  must  discipline  themselves 
to  gain  self  control  over  such  habits  as 


104          THE  COLORED  GIRL  BEAUTIFUL 

over-eating,  coarseness,  inertia,  anger, 
and  other  beauty  destroyers. 

Any  excessive  emotion  debilitates 
the  nervous  system  and  thus  affects 
good  looks. 

Proper  poise  prolongs  life  because 
pressure  on  certain  organs  is  evenly 
distributed  and  no  strain  is  placed  on 
any  particular  muscles  to  cause  ab- 
cesses  or  tumors,  etc.  Improved  cir- 
culation of  the  blood  results,  and  good 
circulation  spells  health.  One  can 
think  better  when  poise  is  correct  for 
the  same  reason. 

The  conversation  of  people  gives  a 
pretty  correct  estimate  of  character. 
Complaints  from  people  who  are  sorry 
for  themselves  is  one  of  the  tell-tale 
evidences  of  a  weak  character. 

There  is  a  present  day  need  of 
knowledge  concerning  a  certain  con- 
tagion of  emotions.  Strong  feeling 
sometimes  vibrates  that  which  is  hos- 
tile and  selfish.  One  fretful,  scolding 


THE  COLORED  GIRL  BEAUTIFUL  105 

woman  can   upset   a   neighborhood,   to 
say  nothing  of  a  household. 

One's  thoughts  should  be  of  love 
and  peace,  instead  of  worry  and  fear, 
lest  she  may  harm  others.  A  woman 
should  be  unafraid  to  conquer  life's  prob- 
lems. She  should  have  faith  in  herself 
or  she  will  be  a  dreamer  instead  of  a 
doer.  She  must  be  positive  instead  of 
negative,  but  be  positive  in  the  right  way 
which  includes  the  thought  and  help  for 
others. 

Voices  reflect  the  mind  and  soul,  so 
the  colored  woman  should  control  the 
speaking  voice. 

Ella  Wheeler  Wilcox  has  said, 
"Some  voices  affect  us  like  music, 
Some  voices  arouse  to  action  and  am- 
bition. 

Some  voices  fill  you  with  despondency. 

Some   voices    irritate    like  a    buzz-saw. 

Some  voices  snap  like  turtles,  and  some 

hiss  like  serpents." 

Control  of  the  speaking  voice  is  one 


106  THE  COLORED  GIRL  BEAUTIFUL 

of  the  most  admired  evidences  of  self 
control. 

The  power  of  the  mind  over  the  body 
is  said  to  be  greater  than  any  germ. 
Compelling  the  mind  to  perform  some 
one  useful  disagreeable  act  each  day  is 
a  splendid  habit  trainer.  The  influences 
that  we  exert  over  others  will  depend 
to  a  great  extent  upon  the  control  over 
our  own  habits  as  well  as  the  resistance 
to  influence  that  others  might  exert 
over  us. 

One  must  conquer  habits  of  laziness, 
untidiness,  extravagance,  voice,  ges- 
tures, clothing,  to  gain  power  to  con- 
centrate Thought. 


Her  Relationship  With  Men. 


Many  girls  think  that  they  under- 
stand men,  but  they  flatter  themselves. 
Men  do  not  always  understand  them- 
selves, and  often  do  things  because 
they  have  been  led  to  "the  doing/'  by 
misunderstanding  the  girl. 

A  man  likes  to  measure  up  to  the 
opinion  of  sympathy,  strength,  protec- 
tion, or  wickedness,  that  he  imagines  a 
girl  has  of  him.  He  often  says  and 
does  things  to  please  the  girl  more 
than  to  please  himself. 

Girls  often  throw  out  allurements 
and  temptations  especially  in  the  way 
of  immodest  dress  and  seemingly  in- 
nocent actions  which  have  been  the 
downfall  of  men  as  well  as  of  them- 
selves. While  men  have  known  that  the 

109 


110  THE  COLORED  GIRL  BEAUTIFUL 

temptations  were  deliberately  planned, 
they  have  not  had  sufficient  will  power 
to  resist.  It  is  an  unpardonable  crime 
for  a  young  girl  to  take  such  an  ad- 
vantage for  frequently  she  ruins  the 
career  of  a  man.  Such  a  girl  has  two 
souls  to  answer  for  when  her  own  down- 
fall is  a  sufficient  burden  to  carry. 

Some  girls  complain  of  insults  from 
men.  There  are  so  many  good  reasons 
which  could  be  given  for  this,  but  girls 
would  indignantly  deny  that  one  rea- 
son is  that  they  bring  this  upon  them- 
selves. 

They  discuss  slippery  subjects  and 
personal  experiences,  and  "heart  long- 
ings" which  call  forth  the  ever  present 
manly  (masculine)  sympathy.  This 
often  leads  to  actions  afterwards  re- 
gretted. 

Men  are  good  readers  of  the  public 
bulletin— a  girl's  face.  They  see  the 
mark  of  intoxicants,  impure  thoughts 
and  other  weaknesses  as  if  they  were 


THE  COLORED  GIRL  BEAUTIFUL  111 

spelled  out  on  the  features,  and  as  they 
are  keenly  sensitive  to  projected  vibra- 
tions, they  act  accordingly. 

Sometimes  dusk,  or  night's  darkness 
is  to  blame  for  much  mischief.  Moral 
resistance  seems  to  be  at  low  ebb  at 
this  time,  and  an  evidence  of  timidity 
or  other  feminine  weakness  may  be 
misunderstood — read  incorrectly  as  a 
feminine  subterfuge  seeking  physical 
contact. 

If  one  will  always  expect  good  from 
men — the  men  will  generally  rise  to  it. 
Try  to  believe  that  every  man  is  chiv- 
alrous, but  do  not  put  his  chivalry  to 
too  severe  a  test. 

Curiosity  and  a  too  venturesome 
spirit  may  lead  to  mischief  and  trouble 
too  great  to  be  remedied.  One  must 
not  think  or  project  impure  thoughts, 
nor  must  she  expect  insults  and  fa- 
miliarities. Men  generally  respond  to 
the  (influencing)  thought.  They  feel 
the  thoughts  and  obey  them. 


112  THE  COLORED  GIRL  BEAUTIFUL 

Girls  must  remember  that  most  men 
talk.  Some  will  tell  on  girls  if  it  is 
the  last  act  of  their  lives,  although  they 
may  not  mean  to  tell.  A  newly  mar- 
ried man  will  tell  his  wife,  or  another 
will  tell  his  affinity.  Another  may 
drink  too  much  and  grow  confidential. 
Some  even  talk  in  their  sleep.  One 
may  not  think  that  she  will  escape;  her 
indiscretions  will  follow  her  to  her  life- 
long regret. 

She  should  not  try  to  be  a  woman 
too  early  in  life,  and  should  not  marry 
too  early.  She  should  study  her  phy- 
sique and  her  constitution.  She  should 
not  permit  desire  and  curiosity  to  con- 
trol her  good  sense.  Long  illness,  suf- 
fering, operations,  and  even  early  death 
may  result  from  premature  responsi- 
bility. If  necessary,  she  should  consult 
a  physician  and  look  the  future  square- 
ly in  the  face. 

Girls  do  not  now  mature  as  early  as 
their  mothers  and  grandmothers  did, 


THE  COLOP.ED  GIRL  BEAUTIFUL  113 

and  they  have  not  the  same  power 
of  endurance  and  resistance,  because 
times,  conditions,  and  the  mode  of  liv- 
ing have  changed. 

Long  engagements  should  not  be  en- 
couraged. If  a  man  wants  a  girl  he 
will  wait  patiently  without  any  cod- 
dling or  coaxing.  Long  engagements 
are  enervating.  Engaged  couples  feel 
that  they  are  licensed  by  public  opinion 
and  they  tax  their  powers  in  a  way  that 
married  people  would  not  dare  to  do. 
Too  much  liberty  in  long  engagements  is 
so  often  a  serious  menace  to  health  and 
happiness  in  after  marriage  relationship. 
It  takes  away  the  charm  and  bloom  of 
married  life  because  the  man  learns  to 
know  his  fiancee  too  well. 


The  Religion  of  the  Colored  Girl 

Beautiful. 


God  is  the  perfection  in  all  that  is 
good.  God  is  the  best  in  us.  God  is 
the  perfection  of  all  that  is  beautiful 
orderly  and  harmonious — the  100  per 
cent  of  everything-  in  the  world. 

The  religion  of  the  colored  girl  beau- 
tiful should  teach  her  that  everything  is 
spiritual — sacred — because  everything 
comes  from  God. 

It  is  not  sufficient  to  say,  "I  am  a 
Christian  (1  am  spiritual — of  the 
Spirit)"  unless  one  expresses  this  in 
countless  ways  each  day.  Not  only  in 
kind,  helpful  actions  and  gentle  speech, 
but  in  the  work-a-day  life. 

The  colored  girl  beautiful  expresses 
her  Christianity — her  spirituality — the 
best,  or  100  per  cent  in  her,  when  she 

117 


118  THE   COLORED  GIRL  BEAUTIFUL 

puts  Christ  into  every  act  of  her  every 
day  life.  No  act  should  be  too  insig- 
nificant for  this  expression. 

The  parables  of  Jesus  teach  us  that 
He  put  His  Spirit  into  the  lowest  act, 
as  for  instance  in  the  parable  of  the 
tent-maker. 

If  the  colored  girl  beautiful  is  truly 
of  His  Spirit  she  will  spiritualize,  light 
up  her  every  day  environment  with  the 
"Light"  that  is  in  her  as  a  beacon  to 
others  as  well  as  to  show  her  appre- 
ciation of  a  priceless  possession. 

Each  day  she  has  innumerable  oppor- 
tunities to  express  the  Christ  in  her— 
her  spirituality — in  the  neatness  of  her 
apparel,  and  in  the  tidiness  of  her  home 
and  yard.  She  may  take  her  religion 
—her  Christ — into  the  kitchen  and  ex- 
press Him  and  the  100  per  cent  spirit- 
uality in  her  cooking,  sweeping,  and  in 
her  dish  washing. 

.  Doing  things  well  expresses  the  pro- 
portion of  the  Christ — the  perfection — 


THE   COLORED   GIRL  BEAUTIFUL  119 

the  100  per  cent  in  us.  The  more 
Christ  one  claims,  the  better  should  one 
express  Christ  in  his  daily  labor  as 
e very-day  evidence. 

A  low  daily  percentage  is  a  poor  rec- 
ord for  one  who  claims  spirituality  on 
Sunday. 

Xo  untidy  clvjuch,  home,  or  school 
expresses  Christ — for  Christ  represents 
perfection  in  cleanliness  and  order. 
"Cleanliness  is  next  to  Godliness"  we 
are  told.  Cleanliness  shows  the  spirit- 
ual, the  God,  but  dirt  in  any  form  is 
an  expression  of  the  opposite.  Dirt 
under  a  bed  and  a  prayer  beside  it  are 
not  compatible,  to  say  the  least,  un- 
less the  "pray-er"  is  unable  to  sweep. 

The  Christ  principles  properly  in- 
terpreted and  applied  would  spiritualize 
a  broom  and  duster  and  all  the  utensils 
of  a  home  or  the  tools  of  a  trade. 

Order  is  an  expression  of  the  God- 
part  which  makes  us  more  orderly  in 


120  THE   COLORED  GIRL  BEAUTIFUL 

the  habits  of  life  if  we  make  preten- 
sions as  Christians. 

God  is  not  only  all  that  is  perfect  in 
cleanliness,  order  and  harmony,  but  He 
is  also  all  that  is  perfect  in  color  and 
sound.  God  is  in  the  body  and  all  its 
parts,  the  hair,  teeth — all. 

As  harmony  and  color  are  expres- 
sions of  Spirituality  so  good  taste  in 
dressing-  expresses  the  God  in  us.  By 
observing  and  studying  Nature  one 
learns  God's  taste  in  color  and  what  is 
harmonious. 

We  should  dress  to  suit  the  color  of 
the  face  and  the  physical  attributes  that 
have  been  given  to  us.  God  has  ap- 
propriately garbed  each  object  in  Na- 
ture. Colored  people  should  study 
themselves  and  dress  accordingly.  The 
bright,  gay  colors  are  not  suitable  to 
all.  Many  violate  the  laws  of  har- 
mony of  color,  and  unconsciously  ex- 
pose the  ugliest  in  their  appearance  by 


THE   COLORED   GIRL  BEAUTIFUL  121 

wearing  gaudy,  unbecoming,  inappro- 
priate clothes. 

As  the  harmony  of  sound  comes  from 
God,  so  an  eloquent  voice  expresses 
God.  Christians  should  make  their 
voices  more  elegant  and  eloquent.  A 
loud,  coarse  voice  expresses  the  op- 
posite of  God.  Coarseness  in  thought 
and  speech  is  unlike  Christ  and  serves 
to  reveal  opposite  attributes  to  those 
He  represents.  Grunting  is  not  spirit- 
ual. No  one  could  imagine  a  grunt  from 
Christ. 

A  graceful  motion  or  gesture  also 
reflects  the  God  in  us.  One  would 
never  imagine  any  rough,  uncouth  ges- 
ture from  Christ,  who  is  the  "pattern 
of  patterns."  Grimaces  are  not  spirit- 
ual besides  they  leave  lines  in  the  face. 

A  respect  for  the  rights  of  others  ex- 
presses the  God  in  us,  as  do  obedience 
and  kindness.  We  are  told  in  positive 
language  by  God  to  respect  our  elders 
and  superiors. 


122  THE   COLORED  GIRL  BEAUTIFUL 

Race  pride  expresses  the  God  in  us. 
The  Israelites  were  the  chosen  people 
because  of  blood  ties.  They  were  proud 
of  their  blood.  Blood  is  thicker  than 
water.  The  real  Christian  should  be 
proud  of  his  people;  he  should  believe 
iu  them  and  uplift  them  as  our  Great 
Example  did  the  lowly. 

The  reverence  which  expresses  God 
will  cause  one  to  respect  His  house  or 
any  portion  of  it.  A  Christian  would 
not  handle  a  .Bible  carelessly  and  would 
dust  it  as  a  privilege,  because  it  is  the 
message  from  God.  A  Christian  would 
not  tear  or  disfigure  any  sacred  book 
or  selection  of  music,  while  to  sit  upon 
the  sacred  rail  of  the  altar  or  pulpit 
would  be  an  unpardonable  act  of  sacri- 
lege. 

The  proper  care  of  any  article  be- 
longing to  the  Sacred  Service  is  an  ex- 
pression of  Spirituality  because  it 
recognizes  the  article  as  a  medium  of 


THE  COLORED  GIRL  BEAUTIFUL  123 

spirituality,  something  which  should 
be  reverenced. 

The  singing  of  religious  songs  in  any 
but  a  spiritual  frame  of  mind  would  be 
sacrilege  just  as  the  taking  of  the 
Lord's  name  in  ordinary  conversation 
or  in  exclamation  is  sacrilege. 

The  same  religion  or  Spirituality 
which  makes  one  shout,  pray  and  sing 
should  prompt  a  girl  not  to  wear  a 
pale  pink  or  blue  satin  dress  or  other 
inappropriate  fancy  decollete  dress  to 
worship  in  God's  House.  She  cannot 
worship  God  and  mammon  at  the  same 
time  and  she  should  not  be  the  means 
of  distracting  anyone  from  spiritual 
thoughts  through  envy  or  disgust. 

The  Christ  in  a  person  will  prevent 
her  from  speech  and  action  which 
would  hurt  the  chances  or  success  of 
another  person.  God  has  warned  us 
that  the  violation  of  this  rule  will 
surely  return  evil  to  the  violator.  His 


124  THE  COLORED  GIRL  BEAUTIFUL 

law   has  many  references   to   this   par- 
ticular self  punishment. 

It  can  not  be  denied  that  Divinity 
has  specially  endowed  the  Negro  spirit- 
ually, but  he  does  not  consistently  ex- 
press it  in  all  the  forms  that  he  might 
express  it,  especially  in  the  great  Race 
cause.  He  is  full  of  heart,  and  will  give 
his  money,  his  food,  his  life,  for  God- 
but  he  does  not  yet  realize  that  the 
same  love  for  God  that  he  puts  into, 
his  gifts  should  be  expressed  and  ap- 
plied in  his  daily  walks  in  life  as  Christ 
has  expressly  commanded. 

We  are  taught  that  there  are  four 
kinds  of  Emotional  Expression:  The 
Egotistic  which  is  self  and  in  the  inter- 
est of  self  as  in  joy,  rapture  and  grief; 
the  Aesthetic  which  has  its  expression 
in  Nature  and  Art ;  the  Ethical  which 
has  its  expression  in  the  moral  law;  the 
Religious  which  expression  is  in  the 
faith  of  the  Supreme  Being. 

As  yet  the  Negro  has  only  fully  ex- 


THE  COLORED  GIRL  BEAUTIFUL  125 

pressed  himself  in  but  two:  The  Ego- 
tistic, or  the  self  interest,  and  the  Re- 
ligious, or  the  faith  in  the  Supreme 

Being. 

The  Negro  undoubtedly  brought 
about  his  own  freedom  through  his 
own  spirituality,  and  faith,  and  the 
concentrated,  united  thought  of  a 
whole  people  upon  one  subject — free- 
dom. His  remarkable  progress  since 
emancipation  has  been  due  to  the  same 
faith. 

The  Negro  should  be,  and  could 
easily  be  the  spiritual  teacher — or  ex- 
ample— of  the  world.  He  must  not 
only  prove  his  spirituality  but  he  must 
diffuse  it,  that  others  may  realize  its 
power  even  if  they  may  not  receive 
its  benefit. 

Christ,  the  Supreme  Example  of 
spirituality  was  quiet.  Other  races 
hold  that  ideal,  of  spirituality.  When 
they  see  and  hear  a  Negro  shout,  weep 
and  pray  and  then  find  that  same  per- 


126  THE  COLORED  GIRL  BEAUTIFUL 

son  uncouth  and  dirty,  they  cannot 
reconcile  the  two  conditions,  and  so 
doubt  the  spiritual  element  which  the)" 
call  Emotionalism.  (They  do  not  re- 
member that  the  Spirit  may  be  strong 
and  the  flesh  weak.) 

These  critics  cannot  believe  that  an 
untidy,  ignorant  man  with  dirty  teeth 
stained  with  tobacco  juice  can  give 
spiritual  advice,  and  one  must  admit 
that  it  does  look  incompatible. 

The  race  needs  more  quality  in  Emo- 
tion and  less  quantity. 

Once  convince  the  rankest  Negro 
hater  that  the  Negro  undoubtedly  has 
spirituality,  which  is  surely  advancing 
him  and  the  race,  and  a  certain  respect 
will  follow-. 

Each  Negro  must  consider  himself 
a  spiritual  missionary  whose  appear- 
ance, speech,  actions  and  surroundings 
will  reflect  the  storehouse  of  the  great 
Light  within. 

The    colored    ministers    who    preach 


THE  COLORED  GIRL  BEAUTIFUL  127 

Emotionalism,  or  what  they  term  the 
expression  of  spirituality  should  see  to 
it  that  their  flocks  spiritualize  their 
daily  lives  causing  cleaner  churches, 
schools,  homes,  yards,  wearing  apparel 
and  Christian  thoroughness  in  each 
daily  act,  thus  showing  100  per  cent 
spirituality. 

The  colored  ministers  who  preach 
Non-Emotionalism  should  prove  that 
the  power  of  spiritual  expression  is  he- 
ing  directed  along  channels  which  are 
helping  their  flocks  and  the  race  in 
each  daily  act,  not  only  in  race  progress 
hut  in  convincing  doubting  Thomases 
who  are  blind  to  the  good  traits  in  the 
race. 

The  so-called  Spiritual  Power  which 
tvould  cause  a  woman  to  run  down 
*n  aisle  and  mash  the  hats  of  others, 
or  to  throw  hand  bags  and  give  similar 
evidences  of  strength  and  emotion 
could  be  turned  into  safer  and  more 
helpful  channels — as  far  as  her  race  is 


128  THE  COLORED  GIRL  BEAUTIFUL 

concerned.  A  woman  possessed  of 
this  power  and  energy  could  be  a  great 
leader  in  great  deeds  if  she  were  taught 
how  to  do  this.  A  shouter  who  can 
not  help  the  race  in  the  battle  against 
prejudice  in  her  special  locality,  by  ex- 
pressing her  spirituality  in  each  daily 
word  and  act  as  well  as  apparel,  and 
surroundings,  seems  a  poor  example  of 
spiritual  expression. 

The  religion  that  does  not  help  to- 
ward the  advancement  of  this  perse- 
cuted race,  and  does  not  win  the  ad- 
miration and  respect  of  other  races,  is 
not  the  religion  for  the  colored  girl 
beautiful,  of  today. 

As  a  rule  colored  people  expect  en- 
tirely too  much  help  from  God.  We 
must  help  ourselves  more.  Each  Negro 
carries  a  three-fold  burden;  first,  his 
own  personal  burden;  second,  the  bur- 
den of  his  posterity,  and  third,  the  bur- 
den of  the  race.  These  follow  each 


THE  COLORED  GIRL  BEAUTIFUL  129 

other  and  are  dependent  upon  each 
other. 

God  has  given  him  physical  strength, 
a  strong  backbone  and  strong  shoulders 
to  carry  the  heavy  yoke  of  the  three-fold 
burden,  as  well  as  a  wealth  of  spiritual- 
ity to  cheer  him  and  keep  his  heart 
light,  along  the  way  of  life. 

The  religion  of  the  Negro  should 
prompt  less  study  of  the  desires  of  the 
personal  Ego,  and  should  teach  other 
nations  to  respect  his  race,  or,  his  re- 
ligion is  not  spiritualizing  as  it  could 
and  should  spiritualize. 

The  religion  of  the  colored  girl  must 
be  spiritual  in  every  sense,  that  it  may 
influence  her  every  thought  and  act,  and 
make  her  a  true  medium  for  race  prog- 
ress. 


The  School  of  the  Colored  Girl 
Beautiful. 


"'Education  is  the  process  of  develop- 
ing all  man's  powers,  physical,  intel- 
lectual, moral,  aesthetic  and  religious 
for  the  proper  discharge  of  the  duties 
of  citizenship." 

The  school  that  the  colored  girl 
beautiful  should  attend  will  have  trees, 
grass,  flowers,  shrubs  and  a  garden 
(even  though  a  small  one)  that  the  girl 
may  keep  in  close  touch  with  the  first 
teacher — Mother  Nature. 

The  care  of  the  school  campus  as 
well  as  the  windows,  fences,  and  sur- 
roundings, will  reflect  the  careful  spirit 
of  the  school. 

The  colored  girl  beautiful  will  select 
the  school  which  fights  flies,  dirt,  filth 
around  back  doors;  the  school  which 

133 


134  THE   COLORED  GIRL  BEAUTIFUL 

aims  for  sanitation  before  putting  in 
electric  lights;  in  fact,  a  school  which 
has  health  and  sanitation  for  its  hobby. 

She  will  attend  a  school  that  buys 
books  and  takes  care  of  them  and  which 
compels  the  students  to  read  that  they 
may  grow  into  the  reading  habit,  to  pass 
it  along  to  posterity. 

The  progress  of  the  race  will  depend 
not  upon  the  "book  learning"  taught  in 
schools,  but  upon  the  right  habits  form- 
ed and  the  amount  of  self  culture  that 
the  school  inspires. 

The  colored  girl  beautiful  will  be 
taught  to  keep  her  eyes  open  and  her 
mouth  shut  that  she  may  never  betray 
how  little  she  has  really  learned  in  her 
preparation  for  the  real  school — the 
school  of  Life. 

The  colored  girl  beautiful  will  be 
taught  her  duty  and  relationship  to  the 
race,  that  she  may  be  a  living  example 
of  what  right  education  and  right 
training  will  do.  She  will  study  human 


THE  COLORED  GIRL  BEAUTIFUL  135 

needs  and  about  the  history  and  prog- 
ress of  her  people  that  she  may  take 
her  place  in  the  affairs  of  her  race  if 
called  upon,  and  then  bequeath  her 
knowledge  and  good  qualities  to  suc- 
ceeding generations.  She  will  be  taught 
lessons  of  self-control  and  modesty;  to 
respect  her  womanhood  and  to  conduct 
herself  that  she  may  command  respect 
from  all  men  and  boys  including  those 
of  her  family. 

She  will  be  taught  enough  of  the 
world  to  step  into  its  arena  knowing 
the  evils  to  shun.  She  will  be  taught 
to  hold  out  a  helping  hand  to  weaker 
ones  who  may  succumb  to  evil. 

She  will  aim  to  live  in  pleasant  re- 
lationship in  the  school  that  she  may 
acquire  the  habit  of  living  in  peace  in 
social  circles  and  neighborhoods  in  the 
scheme  of  after  life. 

She  will  be  taught  that  politeness  is 
a  necessary  virtue;  that  every  form  of 
impoliteness  is  an  evidence  of  mental 


136  THE   COLORED  GIRL  BEAUTIFUL 

as  well  as  moral  weakness  and  that  an 
ill  bred  colored  girl  is  a  curse  to  the 
race.  She  will  be  taught  the  value  of 
silence  and  that  of  speech,  and  will  aim 
to  train  herself  along  both  lines  for 
silence  is  often  more  effective  than 
speech. 

She  will  learn  that  the  aim  of  educa- 
tion is  the  aim  of  religion,  that  is,  to 
lift  one  above  the  animal.  She  will 
endeavor  to  lift  herself  to  the  highest 
plane  of  true  womanhood  that  she  may 
pull  others  higher. 

Colored  schools  are  supposed  to  cor- 
rect the  tendencies  of  children  who 
have  lived  under  careless,  untidy  con- 
ditions, and  to  give  them  ideals  of 
cleanliness  and  order. 

She  will  do  her  part  of  the  school 
work  cheerfully  and  thoroughly,  that 
she  may  know  how  work  should  be 
done,  and  how  to  train  others — her 
children,  perhaps,  if  so  favored. 

The    colored    girl    beautiful    will    be 


THE   COLORED  GIRL   BEAUTIFUL  137 

taught  the  value  and  use  of  money,  and 
the  relative  value  of  character,  educa- 
tion, and  other  things,  which  money  can- 
not buy.  She  will  be  taught  the  care  and 
cleanliness  of  the  body,  simplicity  of 
wearing  apparel  and  appropriate  becom- 
ing inconspicuous  costumes  for  church, 
school,  street  and  home. 

She  will  be  taught  that  fine  clothes 
can  not  cover  up  bad  manners,  nor  take 
the  place  of  good  character;  that  it  is 
foolish  to  buy  what  one  can  not  af- 
ford; that  the  expenditure  for  clothes 
especially  should  be  gauged  by  one's 
salary  and  should  be  appropriate  for 
her  particular  plane  of  life. 

The  laws  of  proportion  in  the  scheme 
of  life  must  be  the  hobby  of  the  school 
for  the  colored  girl  beautiful. 

She  will  be  taught  that  it  is  unfor- 
givable not  to  walk  erect,  to  talk  in 
good  English  and  in  a  soft  tone  of 
voice. 

As  many  girls  fall  into  book  ignor- 


138  THE   COLORED  GIRL  BEAUTIFUL 

ance  after  graduation  she  will  be 
taught  that  the  aim  of  education  is  to 
give  good  habits  of  reading  along  with 
book-knowledge — or  else  the  school  has 
failed  to  educate  a  colored  girl  beauti- 
ful. 

The  colored  girl  beautiful  will  not 
aim  for  book  education  alone.  She  will 
select  a  school  which  will  fit  her  to  grace 
her  home  from  parlor  to  kitchen,  a 
school  which  has  thoroughness  for  its 
motto. 

She  will  be  taught  how  to  make  her 
dresses  and  hats,  to  prepare  for  the 
time  when  perhaps  her  allowance  for 
clothes  must  be  divided  among  several. 
Dressmaking  is  a  science  as  well  as  an 
art  and  enough  can  be  learned,  by 
those  not  apt,  to  save  many  dollars— 
especially  in  the  home  that  fate  favors 
with  children. 

She  will  be  taught  a  trade,  or  some 
means  of  earning  a  livelihood,  that  she 
may  be  prepared,  if  circumstances, 


THE  COLORED  GIRL  BEAUTIFUL  139 

should     force    her     into     the    business 
arena. 

The  school  of  the  colored  girl  beauti- 
ful will  so  educate  her  that  motherhood 
will  be  her  highest  ideal  in  life,  the 
glory  of  colored  womanhood. 


The  Home  of  the  Colored  Girl 
Beautiful. 


The  Home  of  the  Colored  Girl  Beau- 
tiful will  reflect  her.  She  will  help  her 
parents  to  buy  a  home  that  it  may  give 
her  family  more  standing  in  the  civic 
community.  Taste  and  simplicity  will 
rule,  for  the  home  will  harmonize  with 
the  girl.  If  her  parents  are  not  par- 
ticular about  the  trifles  in  the  way  of 
curtains,  fences,  and  yards,  then  it 
must  be  her  special  task  to  make  the 
home  represent  the  beautiful  in  her,  the 
God,  for  all  that  is  beautiful  and  good 
comes  from  God. 

Windows  generally  express  the  char- 
acter of  the  occupants  of  a  house.  The 
day  has  passed  when  soiled  or  ragged 
lace  curtains  are  tolerated.  The  cheap- 
er simpler  scrims  and  cheese  cloths 

143 


144  THE   COLORED  GIRL  BEAUTIFUL 

which  are  easily  laundered  are  now 
used  by  the  best  people. 

The  Colored  Girl  Beautiful,  will 
study  the  possibilities  of  her  home  and 
will  attempt  to  secure  the  restful  ef- 
fects for  the  eye.  Too  much  furniture 
is  bad  taste.  The  less  one  has,  the 
cleaner  houses  may  be  kept. 

The  ornate  heavy  furniture  and  the 
upholstered  parlor  sets  are  passing 
away  because  they  are  no  longer  con- 
sidered good  taste,  besides  they  are  too 
heavy  for  cleanliness  and  are  harmful 
to  the  health  of  women  who  do  their 
own  work. 

Furniture  of  less  expensive  model, 
with  simple  lines  and  of  less  weight 
are  being  selected.  These  may  be  paid 
for  cash  instead  of  "on  time,"  as  has 
been  the  custom  of  many  people  in 
smaller  towns  and  in  the  country  dis- 
tricts. 

The  furniture  sold  by   the   payment 


THE  COLORED  GIRL  BEAUTIFUL  145 

houses  always  shows  its  source  in  its 
heaviness  and  shininess. 

The  wall  paper  should  be  selected 
as  one  would  select  a  color  for  clothes, 
to  harmonize  with  the  color  of  the 
skin  in  all  lights,  and,  for  service 
Color  schemes  in  decoration  are  being 
followed  and  we  have  no  more  stuffy 
parlors,  often  closed  for  days.  In- 
stead wre  have  living  rooms,  with  clean- 
able  furniture,  strong  but  light,  entirely 
suitable  for  winter,  and  cool  in  sum- 
mer. No  one  has  a  parlor  now-a-days. 
The  best  room  is  generally  a  living 
room  for  the  whole  family.  No  more 
do  we  see  enlarged  pictures  which  good 
taste  demands  should  be  placed  in  bed 
rooms  and  private  sitting  rooms.  The 
ten  cent  stores  have  done  a  great  deal 
of  good  in  educating  the  poor  white 
and  black  alike.  These  stores  have 
every  where  sold  small  brown  art 
prints  of  many  of  the  great  paintings, 


146  THE  COLORED  GIRL  BEAUTIFUL 

to  take  the  place  of  the  gaudy  dust 
ladened  chromos  and  family  pictures. 

Pictures  are  hung  low  that  they  may 
be  thoroughly  dusted,  as  well  as  to 
give  a  near  view  of  the  subject. 

Expensive  carpets  are  also  things  of 
the  past.  Painted  and  stained  floors 
with  light  weight  rugs  are  more  gen- 
erally used.  These  may  be  cleaned  and 
handled  without  giving  the  backache  to 
women.  Many  colored  girls  boast  of 
having  painted  their  own  floors  and 
woodwork.  Much  of  this  has  been 
learned  in  the  boarding  school. 

A  tawdry  home  expresses  its  mis- 
tress as  do  her  clothes. 

Next  to  the  kitchen  a  fully  equipped 
bath  room  is  now  the  most  important 
room  in  the  house.  Health  and  sani- 
tation are  the  topics  of  the  hour  and  a 
colored  girl  should  know  how  to  put 
a  washer  on  a  faucet  as  well  as  her 
father  or  brother. 

A  house  without  books  is  indeed  an 


THE  COLORED  GIRL  BEAUTIFUL          147 

unfurnished  home.  Good  books  are 
the  fad  now.  They  are  everywhere  in 
evidence  in  the  up-to-date  colored 
home.  They  are  exhibited  almost  as 
hand  painted  china  was.  In  every  in- 
ventory or  collection  one  finds  a  Bible, 
a  dictionary,  and  an  atlas. 

The  times  are  changing  and  the  col- 
ored people  are  changing  with  the 
times.  Cleanliness  and  health  are  the 
watchwords,  and  "Order"  is  Heaven's 
first  law. 


The  Colored  Working  Girl  Beautiful. 


No  one  should  ever  scorn  a  colored 
working  woman.  She  has  been  the 
bone  and  sinew  of  the  race.  She  has 
built  the  churches,  helped  the  schools 
and  has  made  the  race  what  it  is.  The 
pioneer  colored  woman  in  most  in- 
stances has  helped  to  make  the  wealth 
that  many  colored  families  enjoy,  to- 
day. 

In  my  travels,  on  entering  Southern 
towns  early  in  the  morning,  colored 
women  are  the  only  women  seen  on  the 
streets,  and  sometimes  the  only  per- 
sons. They  hurry  along  often  with  in- 
sufficient clothing  in  cold  and  rain. 

One  thinks  of  the  little  ones  at 
home  who  dress  themselves  and  per- 
haps, younger  children,  all  without  a 
mother's  care,  until  night  when  the 
tired  woman's  return  to  her  home  to 
cook,  tu  wash  and  to  iron  for  her  fam- 

151 


152  THE  COLORED  GIRL  BEAUTIFUL 

ily  after  a  hard  day's  work,  in  service. 
In  the  antebellum  days  some  of  the 
Negro  working  women  may  have  been 
lazy  but  their  descendants  of  today  are 
not  lazy — only  fifty  years  after.  Sta- 
tistics prove  how  many  homes  have 
been  bought  through  their  labor,  how 
many  children  are  sent  to  school.  Work- 
ing women  pay  the  family  doctor  bills, 
and  support  the  churches  and  charities. 

"Every  person  should  work  or  else 
she  will  need  a  doctor/'  Habits  affect 
looks.  If  one  is  energetic  and  happy  in 
doing  her  work,  her  face  will  reflect 
the  contentment.  If  one  hates  work, 
the  face  will  reflect  discontent,  the  vital 
organs  will  grow  flabby  and  affect  the 
health,  and  looks  will  suffer.  Enthu- 
siasm in  work  stimulates  the  vital  or- 
gans, causes  circulation  of  the  blood 
and  makes  the  eye  bright  and  the  skin 
to  take  on  a  more  healthy  hue. 

If  a  girl  is  obliged  to  work  in  a 
kitchen  she  should  respect  her  work 
and  dignify  her  position.  She  may  be 


THE  COLORED  GIRL  BEAUTIFUL  153 

a  "Somebody"  washing  dishes  or  scrub- 
bing a  floor,  if  she  does  not  depreciate 
her  work  and  if  she  will  give  it  status  in- 
stead of  half  doing  it  and  complaining 
about  it. 

Only  a  somebody  "can"  work  well. 
We  cannot  get  blood  out  of  a  turnip, 
and  neither  can  a  nobody  "do"  things. 
A  slip-shod,  half-hearted  working 
woman  is  a  curse  to  the  race,  because 
she  gives  it  a  bad  reputation.  She 
should  put  the  "somebody"  stamp  on 
every  portion  of  daily  work  and  do  the 
work  as  if  she  expected  to  get  a  di- 
ploma for  it  each  night.  She  should 
not  work  mechanically  or  it  will  be 
drudgery.  She  should  put  pride  and  en- 
thusiasm in  her  work,  and  let  it  reflect 
her  inner  self. 

It  is  the  duty  of  every  working  girl 
to  make  her  employer  adore  her  for 
her  personal  value  and  her  word.  "Do 
so  much  better  work  than  you  are  paid 
to  do  that  not  only  your  employers,  but 
their  friends  will  take  note  and  soon 


154  THE  COLORED  GIRL  BEAUTIFUL 

YOU  will  be  paid  for  more  than  you 
do/' 

Be  ready  for  the  opportunity  or  crisis 
which  is  bound  to  come  in  a  change 
for  the  better.  Stick  to  a  position  like 
a  leach.  Make  it  a  bigger  and  better 
one  than  you  found  it  and  it  will  pre- 
pare you  for  greater  openings.  Some- 
body is  always  watching  good  work- 
ers. 

In  her  relationship  with  men  the 
colored  working  girl  beautiful  will  put 
a  higher  appraisement  on  herself  than 
may  be  necessary  in  the  case  of  the 
more  fate-favored  colored  girl  who 
stays  under  her  parents  roof.  Because 
she  works  is  no  reason  why  she  should 
be  cheap,  easily  attained,  or  easily 
pleased  as  far  as  men  are  concerned. 

She  will  demand  much  instead  of 
little  from  men,  that  they  will  offer 
more  for  the  privilege  of  her  society. 
Unless  she  is  engaged  she  will  be  wise 
to  permit  no  caresses  and  will  try  to 


THE  COLORED  GIRL  BEAUTIFUL          155 

conquer  the  tendency  towards  accept- 
ing "petting." 

She  will  bide  her  time  for  the  recog- 
nition of  her  worth.  Many  a  servant 
girl  has  seen  her  posterity  lead  a  town, 
socially. 

To  know  how  to  wait  is  a  great 
secret;  to  patiently  bide  the  time  when 
one  may  step  into  the  niche  that  right 
living  and  preparation  has  made  pos- 
sible. She  will  try  to  be  contented  and 
will  strive  for  power  to  conquer  her 
work,  and  herself  to  be  ready  for  the 
day  when  opportunity  will  open  her 
door  to  a  larger  and  more  responsible 
life.  The  beautiful  part  about  this  is 
that  she  will  be  ready  to  fit  into  this 
new  condition  of  life. 

She  should  observe,  listen  and  imi- 
tate the  good  when  at  work.  Contact 
is  often  worth  more  than  money.  Many 
valuable  lessons  have  been  learned 
while  "in  service/'  While  alone  work- 
ing one  has  opportunity  to  "think"  and 
Thought  rules  the  world. 


156          THE  COLORED  GIRL  BEAUTIFUL 

A  colored  working  girl  is  a  racial 
trust.  Her  race  burden  is  a  heavy  one. 
Her  speech,  actions  and  diligence  con- 
stitute the  measure  by  which  the  whole 
race  is  judged. 

One  need  not  permit  previous  family 
conditions  or  disadvantages  of  birth  to 
hamper  her  progress  in  life.  No  mat- 
ter what  one's  people  have  been  or  are, 
one  is  not  to  blame  providing  she  rises 
above  all  of  it. 

She  must  "get  up"  and  pull  her  fam- 
ily up  after  her,  if  she  can.  If  this 
can  not  be  done  she  can  pull  herself 
up — up — up  and  be  the  "somebody"  in 
the  family.  She  may  grow  in  char- 
acter, influence  and  reputation,  until 
people  will  forget  her  ancestry  and  any 
objectionable  relations  as  well  as  all 
former  environment. 

The  Colored  Working  Girl  Beautiful 
should  not  fear  or  worry  about  what 
people  may  think.  She  should  save  her 
money.  A  bank  account  is  always  the 


THE  COLORED  GIRL  BEAUTIFUL          157 

most  respected  thing  in  the  struggle  of 
life. 

Even  if  some  single  black  deed 
threatens  to  blot  out  the  whole  of  a 
good  life  (in  one's  own  case  or  in  the 
estimate  of  the  world)  she  should  be 
brave  enough  to  live  it  down.  One 
should  put  her  personality  into  every- 
thing she  does  and  "do"  things  worth 
while.  The  world  moves  on  so  fast  that 
even  the  bad  is  forgotten  soon.  One  may 
live  anything  down  nowadays  if  one 
tries. 

If  she  may  not  go  with  good  people 
socially,  she  should  stay  alone.  In 
time  she  will  make  herself  and  others 
believe  that  this  is  her  preference. 

She  should  not  push  or  try  to  climb; 
she  should  bide  her  time.  In  the  mean- 
time she  might  improve  herself;  she 
might  study  the  piano,  elocution  or 
singing,  and  prepare  for  the  day  when 
opportunity  will  open  the  long-closed 
social  door. 


The  Colored  Woman  Beautiful. 


In  spite  of  everything  to  be  said  on 
the  subject  the  womanly  woman  is  al- 
ways the  strongest  magnet  whether 
she  is  called  beautiful  or  not. 

If  the  colored  girl  has  not  been 
taught  by  her  mother  or  guardian  to 
train  herself  for  a  beautiful  maturity 
even  after  she  has  passed  girlhood,  it 
is  not  too  late  to  train  herself. 

Good  begets  good,  so  she  will  exert 
herself  to  make  a  wide  circle  of  friends 
altho  she  will  be  careful  not  to  grow 
too  intimate  with  any.  She  may  be  a 
real  friend  without  undue  intimacy. 

It  is  conceded  that  most  women 
"must  talk"  to  someone  but  too  much 
intimacy  means  too  much  freedom  and 
this  often  destroys  friendship. 

One  cannot  argue,  quarrel,  or  criti- 
cize and  still  expect  real  friendship. 
One  definition  of  a  friend  is,  "One 

161 


162  THE   COLORED  GIRL  BEAUTIFUL 

you  know  all  about  and  still  like."  One 
should  not  try  to  "make  her  friends 
over"  and  one  never  says  disagreeable 
things  to  her  friends  nor  does  she  make 
unfavorable  comments  about  their  per- 
sonal attire  or  weaknesses.  She  lets 
her  friends  learn  all  unpleasant  things 
from  others.  "The  links  of  the  chain  of 
friendship  are  held  by  a  very  delicate 
thread."  The  tiniest  word,  doubt  of 
action  may  sever  the  links. 

The  colored  woman  beautiful  will  try 
to  love  that  she  may  be  loved.  She 
believes  that  "man  is  his  brother's  keep- 
er" and  she  has  ideals  and  visions  for 
the  race.  She  has  a  moral  obligation; 
she  reaches  out  a  helping  hand  to 
others.  She  can  mix  without  being 
mixed.  We  can  not  help  others  unless 
we  mix.  There  must  be  close  contact 
— touch  to  lift  up  others. 

The  colored  woman  beautiful  believes 
that  everyone  who  gets  up  must  pull 
up,  or  else  she  will  be  kept  down  by  the 
weight  of  the  racial  burden.  Each 


THE  COLORED  GIRL  BEAUTIFUL  163 

one's  welfare  is  closely  bound  with  that 
of  the  masses.  The  race  as  a  whole 
must  progress  and  prosper,  or  else  no 
unit  may  prosper.  The  colored  woman 
beautiful  gives  the  best  in  her  for  race 
advancement.  She  works,  thinks,  and 
reads  to  be  ready  for  the  need  of  the  to- 
morrow and  its  problems. 

The  colored  woman  beautiful  will 
not  carry  "chips  on  her  shoulder,"  look- 
ing for  slights  and  insults.  If  she  car- 
ries the  thought  too  strongly  it  be- 
comes catching  and  someone  will  take 
up  the  idea.  She  will  set  into  motion 
lesser  vibrations  in  the  minds  and 
bodies  of  others  and  the  things  she 
imagines  will  happen. 

She  should  resist  thoughts  of  sus- 
picion. She  must  not  think  about  the 
things  she  wishes  to  keep  secret,  for 
thoughts  are  contagious. 

The  colored  woman  beautiful  does 
not  call  another  woman  "bad''  just  be- 
cause she  does  not  measure  up  to  her 
ethical  code.  She  must  be  so  persist- 


164  THE  COLORED  GIRL  BEAUTIFUL 

ent  in  being-  good  herself  that  every- 
one else  seems  to  look  and  act  good. 
If  God  loves  the  lowest,  she  can  afford 
to  do  likewise.  She  follows  the  rule, 
"Judge  not  that  ye  be  not  judged." 
She  does  not  make  the  mistake  of 
criticising  those  who  have  not  her 
strong  will  power,  lest  having  stronger 
projection  this  unkindness  may  return 
swift  and  sure  to  her.  To  permit  the 
absent  to  be  disparaged  or  depreciated 
in  her  presence  is  almost  as  harmful 
to  herself  as  if  she  had  said  things. 

What  is  "good"  in  (another) 
woman?  What  is  "bad"  in  (another) 
woman?  These  are  two  difficult  ques- 
tions to  answer  and  a  woman  must  not 
judge  by  her  own  standard  for  her- 
self. Women  are  inclined  to  be  too 
narrow  in  their  viewpoint  in  judging 
other  women.  While  one  may  boast 
of  her  virtue  of  virtues  some  women 
may  have  a  bundle  of  lesser  virtues  of 
which  to  boast.  It  takes  more  than  one 
virtue  to  make  a  good  woman.  Many 


THE  COLORED  GIRL  BEAUTIFUL  165 

women  are  unduly  vain  of  their  escape 
from  the  "sin  of  sins"  and  some  of  these 
may  have  known  no  temptation. 

When  one  notes  how  many  good 
friends  a  so-called  "bad"  woman  may 
have,  one  wonders  why  it  is.  Those 
who  understand  the  law  of  vibrations 
recognize  that  the  woman  has  pro- 
jected something  of  herself  which  has 
brought  her  a  rich  return  in  spite  ot 
her  one  weakness. 

It  is  a  terrible  thing  to  be  a  bad 
example  along  any  line  to  young  girls, 
so  every  colored  woman  should  try  to 
conquer  herself  and  live  down  any 
weakness  or  error.  She  should  give 
out  the  best  that  is  in  her  that  she 
may  be  a  good  example  to  younger 
women.  She  lets  the  light  of  love  and 
purity  shine  in  her  face  and  transform 
it,  and  it  will  reflect  in  the  faces  of 
others  and  make  her  own  soul  the 
happier. 


The  Colored  Wife  Beautiful. 


Married  life  is  a  co-partnership  and 
the  wife  and  husband  pledge  to  mutual 
help,  when  they  enter  into  the  mar- 
riage contract. 

If  in  their  girlhood  wives  had  only 
studied  men  instead  of  giving  up  all 
their  time  to  so-called  "loving  and 
courting,"  there  would  not  be  so  much 
dissatisfaction,  heart-ache  and  com- 
plaint after  .marriage.  A  girl  should  try 
to  select  a  man  with  control  over  him- 
self, over  his  voice,  his  emotions,  even 
the  angle  of  his  hat,  and  then  she 
should  practice  control  herself,  until 
the  two  dispositions  have  become  ad- 
justed to  each  other. 

The  ignorant  girl  who  marries  is  full 
of  trust  and  inexperienced  notions. 
The  disillusionments  of  life  seem  to 
come  too  fast  to  suit  the  majority. 
Many  young  wives  immediately  be- 

169 


170  THE  COLORED  GIRL  BEAUTIFUL 

come  discouraged  or  desperate  and  fall 
out  of  the  ranks  by  the  wayside  of  the 
matrimonial  highway,  without  trying 
to  live  up  to  their  end  of  the  contract, 
or  even  respecting  their  own  vows  at 
the  altar. 

"True  loving  is  giving  the  best  with- 
in us."  When  we  have  company  we  give 
to  them  the  best  food,  the  best  linen, 
the  best  china  and  silver-ware  that  we 
own.  Yet  to  those  we  are  pledged  to 
love  and  cherish  we  give  anything,  and 
wonder  why  in  return  we  have  failed  in 
receiving  love  and  all  that  goes  with  it. 

A  divorce  is  a  terrible  "something." 
It  is  a  blight  to  children  and  often 
means  their  ruin  or  the  blasting  of  their 
future.  If  a  woman  has  children  she 
should  try  to  endure  her  lot  until  they 
are  grown.  In  the  meantime  she  may 
prepare  herself  for  a  beautiful  maturity 
and  an  entrance  into  the  commercial 
world  or  another  field  of  activity. 

Of  course,  if  one's  husband  deserts 
her  there  is  nothing  else  to  do  but  let 


THE  COLORED  GIRL  BEAUTIFUL          171 

him  go,  but  if  he  clings  to  her  and 
the  home,  she  should  use  the  protec- 
tion that  his  name  gives  to  her  until 
she  is  sure  that  she  can  buffet  the 
world  alone. 

In  the  larger  field  of  public  life  a 
woman  without  the  protection  of  a  hus- 
band's name  has  a  hard  lot  if  she  has 
physical  or  other  attractions.  Widows 
of  both  kinds  are  always  under  sus- 
picion. If  one  is  lighthearted  and  en- 
joys even  innocent  pleasure,  she  may 
be  called  a  "good  timer,"  or  "fast/*  and 
this  may  injure  her  advancement  hi  the 
arena  of  business  life. 

The  protection  of  the  name  of  any 
kind  of  a  man,  bad,  no  account,  or 
cruel,  is  better  than  the  suffering  from 
cruel  suspicions  which  often  blight  the 
efforts  of  a  sensitive  woman,  who  per- 
haps in  her  loneliness  has  turned  for 
sympathy  this  way  and  that  way, 
until  she  concludes  that  if  she  suffers  in 
name  she  may  as  well  be  "in  the  game," 
and  chooses  the  wrong  way. 


172  THE   COLORED  GIRL  BEAUTIFUL 

If  a  woman  has  money  it  is  quite  dif- 
ferent. People  fawn  upon  her  and  she 
is  less  liable  to  snubbing  if  Dame 
Gossip  should  assail  her. 

The  first  duty  of  a  wife  is  to  keep 
healthy.  Even  if  she  is  ailing  she  must 
not  complain  unless  through  mental 
suggestion  she  desires  to  increase  her 
ailments,  real  or  imaginary.  She  must 
earnestly  endeavor  to  discover  the 
cause  of  the  alleged  ailment  and  re- 
move it. 

The  colored  wife  beautiful  of  today 
must  be  a  composite  woman  because 
the  colored  man  of  today  is  many  sided. 
They  call  woman  a  "creature  of  moods" 
but  most  men  may  easily  be  called  sus- 
ceptible and  changeable  creatures, 
when  it  comes  to  the  attractions  of  the 
opposite  sex. 

Today  it  may  be  a  pr£tty  face  which 
allures  him;  tomorrow  a  fine  conver- 
sationalist, or  a  musical  person  may  at- 
tract. The  next  day  a  woman  with 
tremendous  vitality  may  charm  him. 


THE   COLORED  GIRL,  BEAUTIFUL  173 

So  he  wanders,  but  he  does  not  intend 
to  stray.  One  or  several  streaks  in  his 
make-up  have  been  satisfied,  but  his 
wife  still  stands  upon  her  pedestal  as 
the  woman  who  bears  his  name. 

The  up-to-date  wife  realizes  his  sus- 
ceptibility (as  a  man)  and  is  prepared. 
She  bides  her  time  wrhen  like  the  prod- 
*^al,  he  will  surely  return,  perhaps 
mentally  and  morally  purified  and  a 
wiser,  it  a  sadder  man. 

If  a  woman  loves  her  husband  and 
desires  to  keep  him  for  herself  and 
family,  she  must  train  herself  for  her 
many  varied  duties  including-  attrac- 
tiveness, which  is  a  real  duty. 

If  she  thinks  that  some  other 
woman  has  her  husband's  affection,  her 
thoughts  help  her  to  make  this  so.  It 
she  voices  the  suspicion  she  fertilizes 
the  soil  and  aids  the  growth  or  she  may 
crystallize  and  give  form  to  rumor. 

Even  if  there  is  ground  for  such  a 
suspicion  the  up-to-date  wife  would  not 
admit  it  to  herself  or  voice  the  fact. 


174  THE  COLORED  GIRL  BEAUTIFUL 

"Man's  love  is  of  man's  life  a  part, 
'tis  woman's  whole  existence/' 

The  inexperienced  wives  forget  that 
they  cannot  satisfy  every  mood  of  a 
man  without  study  or  effort,  unless 
they  are  remarkably  gifted.  Many  a 
wife  has  neglected  her  mind,  body  and 
powers  and  when  some  woman  with 
developed  powers  enters  her  marriage 
orbit,  she  flies  off  at  a  tangent,  admits 
defeat  and  gets  a  divorce  without  put- 
ting forth  an  effort  to  win  back  the 
husband  who  is  often  worth  saving. 

It  is  humiliating  to  admit,  "I  have 
lost  my  husband!"  A  wife  should 
never  admit  it,  even  in  thought. 

Many  a  man  does  not  intend  to  stray 
and  loves  his  wife  but  he  has  been 
carried  off  his  feet  just  for  the  mo- 
ment. 

There  are  Keeley  cures  to  save  men, 
why  not  husband  cures  to  save  homes, 
especially  those  with  children  whose 
futures  are  at  stake. 

I  know  several  colored  women  who 


THE  COLORED  GIRL  BEAUTIFUL  175 

have  had  good  ground  for  doubting 
their  husband's  fidelity  who  have  never 
allowed  the  men  to  know  that  they 
have  doubted  them. 

One  wife  made  a  study  of  "the 
woman  in  the  case"  and  threw  her  and 
her  husband  together  in  her  home  un- 
til the  man  was  satiated.  In  the  mean- 
time she  studied  herself  and  the  woman 
to  see  what  it  was  that  attracted  her 
husband.  Then  she  went  into  training 
for  the  match — war — if  it  should  come 
to  that — in  attractiveness,  and  she  won 
without  telling  her  secret. 

If  a  wife  will  give  a  man  time  and 
will  play  the  attractive  game  as  she 
did  before  marriage,  her  husband  will 
soon  turn  his  face  homeward,  and  will 
wonder  what  the  other  charm  was. 

Many  men  are  attracted  by  youth 
alone  and  after  youth  has  flown  they 
are  not  interested.  A  wife  should 
study  the  fancies  of  her  husband  if  she 
desires  to  hold  him,  and  then  begin 


176  THE   COLORED  GIRL  BEAUTIFUL 

work  upon  herself,  to  hold  her  youthful 
looks. 

Wives  must  prepare  for  the  dan- 
gerous age  which  they  say  comes  to  a 
woman  between  thirty-five  and  forty- 
five,  and  to  a  man  from  forty  to  fifty, 
when  both  are  accused  of  being  at- 
tracted to  younger  faces,  and  when 
they  do  foolish  things.  A  wife  must 
strengthen  herself,  lest  she  stray,  and 
cultivate  her  own  attractive  powers  lest 
her  husband  should  incline  to  stray. 

A  man  does  not  age  as  quickly  as  a 
woman.  At  fifty  a  woman  is  supposed 
to  be  on  her  decline  while  a  man  is  in 
his  prime  at  fifty. 

Tt  is  a  woman's  own  fault  if,  at  forty 
the  lines  in  her  face  turn  down  and  if 
her  hair  and  teeth  are  all  gone.  If  she 
is  a  "nagger"  the  reflection  will  ap- 
pear in  her  face.  If  she  has  permitted 
household  cares  to  swamp  her,  and  re- 
flect themselves  in  her  face  and  body, 
she  has  no  one  to  blame  but  herself. 

Many    a    woman    has    attracted    her 


THE   COLORED  GIRL  BEAUTIFUL          177 

husband  through  her  singing,  conversa- 
tion, or  other  accomplishments  and 
after  marriage  has  permitted  these  to 
decline,  and  has  not  lived  up  to  the 
ideal  that  she  gave  him  before  mar- 
riage. 

A  wife  should  ask  herself  if  she  is 
living  up  to  the  ideal  she  suggested 
before  she  married,  or  if  she  is  a  dis- 
appointment, before  she  questions  her 
husband's  conduct. 

Some  wives  think  that  their  morality 
in  wifehood  is  all  sufficient.  A  woman 
may  boast  of  her  "virtue"  until  doom's 
day,  but  "if  her  soul  is  small  and  her 
heart  stingy"  her  example  is  not  worthy 
of  imitation — for  she  is  only  good  to 
herself.  She  has  no  way  of  proving  the 
ownership  of  the  "virtue  of  virtues." 
It  takes  many  virtues  to  make  one 
"good,"  in  the  real  sense  of  the  word. 

A  colored  wife  should  not  be  discon- 
tented without  good  cause  nor  should 
she  complain  of  monotony  when  she 
may  choose  so  many  helpful  diversions, 


178  THE  COLORED  GIRL  BEAUTIFUL 

and  may  help  to  make  others  happy. 

Every  colored  wife  who  has  not 
borne  children,  or  a  wrife  who  has  lost 
children  owes  a  duty  to  the  children 
of  others. 

In  fact,  these  owe  a  greater  debt 
to  posterity  then  the  mother.  Such 
women  should  not  live  for  themselves 
alone,  lest  they  canker.  Contact  with 
youth  infuses  youthful  thoughts  and 
enthusiasm,  and  keeps  a  woman's  heart 
young,  and  if  her  heart  is  young  her 
face  will  reflect  this  mental  attitude. 

There  are  thousands  of  children 
with  living  mothers  who  still  need 
''mothering."  One  may  work  out  her 
own  youth  and  beauty  culture  while 
"mothering"  a  little  one.  It  is  worth 
a  trial  as  a  youth  stimulant. 

There  are  four  great  laws  given  to 
a  wife: 

"Brace  up!  Brush  up!  Clean  up! 
Look  up!" 


The  Colored  Mother  Beautiful. 


When  a  woman  enters  into  the  mar- 
riage contract — into  the  partnership 
of  home  making — it  is  understood  that 
parenthood  is  to  be  the  chief  aim  and 
hope. 

If  a  man  is  good  enough  to  marry 
and  to  contribute  his  support,  he  is 
good  enough  to  be  a  father  or  else  he 
should  not  have  been  selected. 

A  woman  who  marries  and  does  not 
intend  to  have  children  is  merely  an 
object  of  convenience  who  has  sold 
herself. 

To  assume  the  position  of  colored 
motherhood  is  the  greatest  privilege 
and  responsibility  that  can  come  to 
any  woman  in  this  age. 

The  colored  mother  beautiful  carries 
a  heavy  burden — the  weight  of  future 
generations  of  a  handicapped,  perse- 
cuted people.  She  may  bless  or  curse 
181 


182          THE  COLORED  GIRL  BEAUTIFUL 

each  succeeding  generation;  she  may 
change  race  history;  she  may  make  a 
more  beautiful  race  with  the  beauty 
that  comes  from  beauty  of  character 
and  right  living. 

What  a  privilege  to  carve  the  destiny 
of  a  race!  How  glorious  to  look  into 
the  future  and  see  lines  of  ancestry  in- 
fluenced and  advanced  by  her  thought 
and  example,  to  see  her  stamp  of  per- 
sonality upon  a  posterity  which  will 
point  to  her  in  pride  and  thankfulness! 

The  time  has  come  when  each  col- 
ored girl  must  prepare  herself  for  this 
rare  privilege,  when  she  must  distribute 
her  powers  and  talents  for  race  good. 

Whatever  the  colored  mother  is,  mil- 
lions of  colored  children  will  be.  A  col- 
ored mother  lives  not  only  for  herself 
and  for  her  own  children,  but  she  must 
live  for  the  race.  A  colored  mother  is 
a  success  as  she  measures  up  to  her 
relation  and  obligation  to  the  race. 

Negro  children  of  all  children  need 
mothers  who  are  strong  spiritually, 


THE  COLORED  GIRL  BEAUTIFUL  183 

physically,  and  intellectually.  Enough 
colored  children  have  been  born  under 
bad  or  careless  conditions.  The  child 
born  under  bad  conditions  can  not  be 
expected  to  hold  his  own  among  other 
children. 

No  woman  has  a  right  to  blight  the 
future  of  her  race.  Not  even  her  body 
may  be  abused — this  beautiful  casket — 
the  treasure  house  of  future  souls.  Any 
crime  that  she  commits  against  herself 
or  her  body  she  commits  against  the 
race. 

Almost  any  colored  mother  would 
lay  down  her  life  for  her  children  but 
she  must  have  a  wider  vision  into  the 
scheme  of  life  and  the  world,  and  must 
deliberately  plan  to  make  her  grana- 
children  and  great  grand-children 
healthier,  happier  and  more  useful. 

While  it  is  admitted  that  heredity  is 
not  all,  yet  inherited  tendencies  have 
great  influence. 

The  colored  mother  beautiful  must 
be  a  living  example  of  all  that  is  pro- 


184          THE  COLORED  GIRL  BEAUTIFUL 

gressive.  She  must  study  more  about 
the  laws  of  heredity,  and  child  cul- 
ture to  prepare  the  child  for  its  race 
battle,  unhampered  by  inherited  men- 
tal or  physical  tendencies. 

The  "gray  matter"  in  the  colored 
woman's  head  is  the  same  as  the  gray 
matter  in  any  woman's  head.  Through 
the  exercise  of  \vill  power  she  may  con- 
quer inherited  tendencies  and  even  com- 
mand nature  as  other  women  are  do- 
ing. 

There  are  many  books  which  will 
guide  and  instruct  a  prospective  mother 
who  should  read  and  learn  all  she  can 
on  the  laws  of  reproduction.  She 
should  absorb  this  knowledge  that  she 
may  be  able  to  impart  it  to  less  in- 
formed women. 

The  early  Romans  are  said  to  have 
surrounded  a  prospective  mother  with 
examples  of  courage  and  strength. 

The  mother  of  Napoleon  is  an  ex- 
ample of  the  power  of  pre-natal  direc- 
tion. She  is  said  to  have  studied  mill- 


THE  COLORED  GIRL  BEAUTIFUL  185 

tary  tactics  and  to  have  visited  battle- 
fields. The  mother  of  Michael  Angelo 
is  said  to  have  watched  the  painters 
of  pictures  in  the  Cathedral.  The  re- 
sult was  the  greatest  artist  of  the  time. 

As  mental  impressions  are  as  active 
during  the  night  as  in  the  day,  no  pros- 
pective mother  should  carry  unpleasant 
thoughts  to  bed.  The  sub-conscious 
mind  receives  the  bad  thought  at  bed 
time  and  acts  all  night  under  this  in- 
fluence. Its  forces  affect  the  same  as 
thoughts  during  the  day. 

The  prospective  mother  should  read 
good  books,  think  right,  live  right,  and 
keep  a  pure  mind  and  heart,  thus  de- 
veloping a  deeper  nature  to  bequeath. 

More  than  anything  else,  the  pros- 
pective colored  mother  must  practice 
self-control.  All  worry  is  poisonous. 
Strong  thoughts  of  disgust  and  hatred 
if  not  controlled  during  the  pre-natal 
period  are  liable  to  leave  disastrous 
affects.  The  aim  should  be  to  train 


1£6          THE  COLORED  GIRL  BEAUTIFUL 

herself  to  change  any  thought  which 
will  create  a  physical  disturbance. 

Mothers  who  fail  to  control  their 
tempers,  passions,  and  indulgences  too 
often  weep  bitter  tears  as  they  see  in 
their  off-spring  the  consequences  of 
their  own  wrong  doing. 

Someone  has  said:  "Parents  trans- 
mit deviltry  to  children  and  then  pun- 
ish them  for  it."  Instance  after  in- 
stance of  such  cruelty  could  be  cited. 
Why  should  parents  expect  their  chil- 
dren to  be  better  than  they?" 

Anger  causes  a  chemical  change 
which  acts  like  poison  to  the  system  of 
an  adult.  It  affects  the  heart,  stomach, 
blood,  and  nerves  and  causes  many 
other  disturbances. 

"Often  the  unborn  child's  little  or- 
ganism is  flooded  with  shocks  of  pas- 
sion and  disturbed  by  nervous  move- 
ments which  cause  unsound  mind  and 
body." 

Alt  ho  inheritance  comes  from  two 
lines  of  ancestry,  the  prospective 


THE  COLORED  GIRL  BEAUTIFUL          187 

mother  may  be  able  to  control  and 
supervise  the  tendencies  from  her  line. 
She  must  do  all  in  her  power  before  the 
birth  of  a  child  to  sway  it  for  good. 
She  may  then  save  herself  years  of 
worry  and  sorrow  and  the  race  an  un- 
worthy example. 

Before  and  after  birth  the  colored 
mother  beautiful  will  cultivate  and  give 
out  the  best  in  her.  No  contrary  or 
selfish  thought  will  be  permitted  be- 
cause of  the  bad  effect  upon  the  child. 
These  unpleasant  things  will  enter  soon 
enough  into  its  life.  The  mother  will 
faithfully  endeavor  to  be  an  example 
to  her  children  in  thought,  poise, 
speech,  personal  appearance  and  in  all 
forms  of  cleanliness  and  politeness. 

A  child's  ideal  seldom  goes  higher 
that  that  of  its  mother.  Children  very 
accurately  reflect  the  thought  of  their 
parents. 

How  can  the  child  have  high  ideals 
and  elevating  thoughts  unless  the 
mother  has  them? 


188          THE  COLORED  GIRL  BEAUTIFUL 

Taste  is  said  to  be  a  faculty  of  the 
soul.  The  mother  bequeaths  her  taste. 

How  can  the  colored  mother  beau- 
tiful expect  her  children  to  have  habits 
of  observation  and  appreciation  of  the- 
beautiful  in  Nature,  Art,  Science,  Music 
and  Literature,  unless  the  mother  has 
"walked  and  talked  with  nature,  has 
heard  the  tongues  in  trees  and  brooks'' 
as  Shakespeare  has  said,  and  has  point- 
ed these  out  to  the  child? 

If  the  starlight,  the  moonlight,  the 
dawn,  the  sunrise,  the  sunset,  the  blue 
sky,  the  tranquility  of  a  summer  day  or 
the  grandeur  of  a  storm  have  no  re- 
sponse in  the  mother's  soul,  then  how 
can  a  child  be  expected  to  lift  its  eyes 
and  see  the  beautiful  everywhere,  every 
day  and  absorb  the  benefits  from  such 
communion? 

The  physical  feeding  of  a  child  oc- 
curs but  three  times  a  day  but  the 
spiritual,  mental  and  moral  feeding 
goes  on  all  the  rest  of  the  time.  Children 
should  be  fed  ideals  of  thought  and 


THE  COLORED  GIRL  BEAUTIFUL        189 

affection  to  counteract  the  evil  effect  of 
thoughts  of  passion. 

The  colored  child  should  be  taught  to 
think  and  should  be  given  opportunity 
for  a  quiet  hour  for  self  communion 
and  self  entertainment.  It  should  be 
taught  to  live  a  period  of  solitude  so 
that  in  after  life  it  may  not  always  be 
compelled  to  hunt  around  for  enter- 
tainment and  excitement. 

How  can  the  child  be  expected  to 
love  reading  if  the  mother  does  not 
read  to  it? 

How  can  the  child  love  music  if  the 
mother  does  not  play  or  sing  to  it  or 
teach  it  songs? 

How  many  nights  are  wasted  that 
might  be  spent  in  giving  colored  chil- 
dren ideals  of  home  life  and  right 
habits  in  reading  and  home  study? 

Colored  children  have  been  left  alone 
too  much. 

How  many  of  them  have  a  children's 
hour?  How  many  have  been  given 
something  to  think  about?  How  many 


190          THE   COLORED  GIRL  BEAUTIFUL 

spend  their  spare  moments  in  reading? 
How  many  can  recite  poems  or  give 
quotations  from  the  master  writers? 

The  mothers  themselves  must  put 
some  time  in  exerting  their  minds  in 
reading  and  thinking  with  a  view  to- 
wards mentally  improving  the  next 
generation.  They  must  observe  and 
note  what  is  passing  on  in  the  great 
world.  History  is  being  made  every 
day.  How  can  the  child  resist  the  de- 
sires of  the  lower  nature  when  its 
mother  has  tantrums?  The  colored 
mother  must  refuse  to  express  passion. 
A  mother  can  not  shame  or  beat  her 
child  into  gentle  manners  when  she  is 
rough  or  coarse. 

How  can  the  child  be  careful  and 
controlled  in  speech  if  the  mother  has 
not  the  power  of  expressing  herself  in 
good  English.  Language  is  too  power- 
ful a  weapon  in  reaching,  compelling" 
and  swaying  the  feelings  of  others  and 
in  winning  friends— to  be  neglected. 

Children   alwavs  betrav   home   train- 


THE   COLORED  GIRL   BEAUTIFUL  1£1 

ing.  If  they  have  not  been  trained 
properly  as  they  are  not  adepts  in  dis- 
sembling and  they  reflect  their  mothers 
in  all  their  thought,  speech  and  actions. 

The  mother  who  is  strict  in  her  own 
conduct  and  who  pays  careful  atten- 
tion to  the  home  conduct  of  her  chil- 
dren will  seldom  be  ashamed  of  their 
deportment.  Good  habits  may  not  be 
assumed  at  a  moment's  notice.  The 
good  breeding  of  parents  is  very  truly 
reflected  in  the  manners  of  their  chil- 
dren. 

It  is  sad  to  have  the  children  learn 
the  laws  of  politeness  and  good  breed- 
ing outside  the  home,  and  to  watch 
them  assume  that  which  should  be  in- 
nate. 

It  is  sad  to  hear  little  children  lie 
about  their  home  training  pretending 
that  "My  mother  makes  me  do  this  or 
that"  when  they  know  that  the  mother 
has  failed  to  make  a  strong  point  of 
this  particular  fault. 

It  is  sadder  still  to  hear  colored  chil- 


192          THE  COLORED  GIRL  BEAUTIFUL 

dren  say,  "I  can't."  The  colored 
mother  should  put  success  in  the  child's 
thought  and  teach  it  to  believe  in  him- 
self and  his  race.  It  is  the  duty  of 
every  mother  to  preach  success  and 
one's  duty  to  aim  to  excel  along  all 
lines. 

How  can  the  child  be  clean  and  love 
cleanliness  when  its  mother  is  habit- 
ually untidy  and  slovenly?  The  col- 
ored mother  beautiful  would  no  more 
exhibit  herself  unclean  than  naked.  She 
would  no  more  walk  slovenly  than  to 
dress  slovenly.  If  a  mother  wears  un- 
clean clothes,  has  unclean  thoughts  or 
unclean  manners,  her  children  will  re- 
flect her. 

How  can  a  child  hold  her  head  up 
and  her  back  straight  when  her  mother 
slouches  around  and  forgets  that  her 
body  belongs  to  God  as  well  as  her 
soul. 

The  colored  mother  beautiful  makes 
a  point  of  teaching  her  child  to  be  true 
and  helpful  to  the  race,  and  to  speak  up 


THE   COLORED  GIRL  BEAUTIFUL          1<>3 

for  the  good  points  and  keep  silent 
about  the  weaknesses  when  before 
other  races.  Every  race  has  strong  and 
weak  points. 

She  should  take  part  in  efforts  for  the 
advancement  of  the  race.  No  one  can 
lift  the  race  unless  he  stays  in  it.  A 
child  should  be  taught  not  to  depreciate 
the  race  any  more  than  it  would  itself. 

No  one  is  so  big  and  strong  that  he 
can  exist  alone.  All  of  us  are  depend- 
ent to  a  degree.  Each  one  will  need 
friends.  There  are  no  friends  which 
mean  so  much  to  us  as  those  of  our 
own  race. 

The  percentage  of  physical  deform- 
ities in  colored  children  is  lessening. 
Colored  mothers  are  learning  to  study 
children's  faces  and  bodies  in  order  to 
change  and  correct  their  physical  de- 
fects. Bowed  and  weak  legs,  out- 
standing ears,  misshapen  mouths,  noses 
and  teeth  are  being  corrected  accord- 
ing to  scientific  rules.  Then,  too,  they 
are  training  children  to  do  things  to 


194          THE   COLORED  GIRL  BEAUTIFUL 

improve  their  own  physical  defects 
without — of  course — causing  them  to 
be  over  conscious. 

The  colored  mother  beautiful  is  the 
health  officer  of  the  race  as  well  as  her 
own  posterity.  It  is  her  duty  to  see  to 
it  that  her  children  have  clean  bodies 
inside  and  outside.  She  will  see  to  it 
that  in  her  neighborhood  there  will  be 
more  regard  for  health,  drainage,  and 
other  sanitary  conditions.  She  '  will 
pursue  the  deadly  fly  and  cause  this 
pest  and  all  vermin  to  be  eradicated. 

She  will  study  up  on  the  kinds  and 
amounts  of  food  to  give  children  that 
they  may  not  be  fed  the  coarse,  greasy 
food  which  coarsens  the  instinct,  or 
may  make,  them  gluttonous,  which  will 
abuse  the 'Stomach  and  cause  unnatural 
heat  that  may  wreck  them  morally.  In- 
stead, she  advocates  the  light  brain 
forming  food  to  lift  them -above  the 
dominant  animal  tendencies. 

She  controls  the  child's  play  which 
is  so  necessary  to  health  and  which  at 


THE  COLORED  GIRL  BEAUTIFUL          195 

the  present  day  aims  for  educational 
results. 

A  colored  girl's  estimate  and  idea 
of  colored  womanhood  comes  from  her 
mother. 

The  colored  mother  beautiful  will 
not  give  the  best  to  strangers  in  pref- 
erence to  home  folks,  nor  will  she  ex- 
pect her  daughter  to  receive  politeness 
from  other  boys  and  men  when  her 
brothers  and  men  in  the  house  keep 
their  hats  on,  smoke  and  talk  in  loud 
disrespectful  tones  before  her. 

A  colored  mother  will  teach  her 
daughter  to  command  respect  from  all 
boys  and  men  and  not  to  capitulate  in 
any  way.  To  do  this  she  will  teach 
her  daughter  that  she  must  conquer  or 
control  her  lower  nature  and  not  per- 
mit privileges  with  her  body  or  her 
given  name.  Her  coriduct  at  home  and 
on  the  street  must  also  command  this. 
H;er  daughter  will  no  more  use  the 
Lord's  name  in  exclamation  than  any 
other  profanity.  She  must  be  taught 


196          THE  COLORED  GIRL  BEAUTIFUL 

not  to  hang  out  or  talk  outside  of  the 
windows. 

She  must  be  taught  that  she  is  never 
to  stand  and  talk  to  men  on  the  street, 
also  that  she  must  not  continue  a  con- 
versation with  a  man  or  boy  who 
shows  he  has  no  respect  for  her.  She 
will  demand  a  respectful  attitude  if 
she  is  a  good  girl  or  else  she  should 
excuse  herself  from  further  conversa- 
tion and  association. 

The  daughter  of  the  colored  woman 
beautiful  will  be  taught  to  expect  boys 
and  men  to  tip  their  hats  in  meeting 
and  parting,  and  she  will  not  en- 
courage them  to  sit  in  her  presence  if 
she  stands  unless  they  are  her  elders, 
superiors,  or  invalids.  If  necessary  she 
will  exaggerate  the  importance  of  these 
seemingly  small  courtesies  to  impress 
them  upon  other  younger  and  less 
thoughtful  girls. 

Such  a  daughter  will  be  taught  to 
count  for  something  besides  clothes  and 
looks.  She  will  pass  an  intemperate  or 


THE  COLORED  GIRL  BEAUTIFUL  197 

immoral  man  as  she  would  something- 
polluted,  for  both  are  irresponsible  and 
she  may  suffer  from  even  a  moment's 
contact. 

This  daughter  must  be  taught  not 
to  marry  for  support  or  for  money. 
That  is  selfish  and  cowardly.  Love 
should  be  the  basis  of  marriage  because 
after  the  honeymoon  is  past  there  are 
responsibilities,  troubles,  sorrows  and 
self-sacrifice  which  need  the  stimula- 
tion of  the  'kLove  light." 

The  daughter  of  the  colored  woman 
beautiful  will  aim  to  marry  a  man 
mentally  and  physically  fit  to  be  the 
father  of  her  children.  An  immoral, 
vile-tongued,  untruthful  or  diseased 
father  is  a  curse  to  his  race.  It  is  her 
duty  and  aim  to  improve  racial  stock. 

This  daughter  will  study  the  ethics 
of  the  period  of  engagement  and  will 
not  abuse  or  destroy  the  mysterious 
charm  which  belongs  alone  to  the  early 
period  of  wife-hood. 

A  girl  should  be  taught  the  duties  of 


198          THE  COLORED  GIRL  BEAUTIFUL 

married  life;  to  fulfil  the  beautiful  aim 
of  motherhood  should  be  her  ambition 
and  her  daily  prayer. 

Boys,  also,  get  their  estimate  of  col- 
ored womanhood  from  their  mothers. 

A  whipping,  striking,  scolding, 
threatening,  "shut-up"  mother  presents 
him  a  wrong  view  point  of  real  mother- 
hood. 

The  colored  mother  beautiful  will 
teach  her  son  to  respect  colored 
womanhood  and  to  show  this  respect 
in  every  word  and  action.  He  is  not 
supposed  to  know  the  "wheat  from  the 
tare/'  To  any  woman  in  all  the  small 
courtesies  of  life  he  will  reflect  his 
mother's  home  training.  He  will  be 
taught  to  look  up  to,  and  to  show  spe- 
cial respect  and  reverence  for  the  great 
women  and  men  of  the  race. 

Even  in  the  way  he  puts  on  or  takes 
off  his  hat  he  reflects  his  mother. 

If  a  colored  boy  is  Expected  to  tip 
his  hat  to  any  woman,  he  should  tip  it 
to  the  women  of  his  mother's  race. 


THE  COLORED  GIRL  BEAUTIFUL          199 

If  it  is  expected  that  he  should  stand 
erect  before  any  woman,  he  should  be- 
fore the  women  of  his   mother's   race. 
Off   will  go   his   hat,   if   even   asked   a 
question.       His     voice,     his    eyes,     his 
backbone,    his     heels,     all     reflect     his 
mother  and  her  training.     In  spite  of 
protest  he   will   never  sit   if  a   woman 
is  standing  unless  he  is  ill  or  a  cripple. 
Especially  does  he  exhibit  the  mother 
training  he  has  received  from  his  man- 
ner  in   his   actions   to   colored   women. 
If  he   is   expected   to   speak  respect- 
fully to  any  woman  he  should  to  the 
women  of  his  mother's  race. 

If  he  works  faithfully  for  any  woman 
who  employs  him  he  should  work  faith- 
fully for  a  woman  of  his  mothers  race. 
When  he  marries  he  should  select  a 
woman  of  his  mother's  race — a  Colored 
Woman.  His  mother  will  teach  him 
that  a  good  wife  is  about  the  best  thing 
in  the  world. 

He   will  be    taught    to    support    and 
trust  his  wife  as  he  did  his  mother  and 


200          THE   COLORED  GIRL  BEAUTIFUL 

never  doubt  her  until  he  has  positive 
proof  that  she  is  unworthy.  He  will 
never  publicly  put  another  woman  be- 
fore his  wife  if  he  lives  with  her.  As 
long  as  a  wife  bears  his  name  and  stays 
under  his  roof  she  is  entitled  to  the  re- 
spect that  her  title  is  supposed  to  carry. 
He  would  never  go  about  complaining 
of  his  wife  for  that  is  small  and  cow- 
ardly. He  will  tip  his  hat  as  gallantly 
to  his  wife  as  to  another  woman  and 
kiss  her  with  uncovered  head  to  show 
his  respect  to  the  woman  he  has 
chosen  to  bear  his  name. 

The  son  of  the  colored  mother  beau- 
tiful will  not  smoke  in  the  presence 
of  his  wife  or  friends  unless  he  is  sure 
it  is  unobjectionable  and  he  should  re- 
gard this  as  a  privilege  rather  than  a 
masculine  right.  He  will  be  taught  to 
wear  his  coat  at  table  and  regard  it  al- 
so as  a  privilege  if  he  appears  other- 
wise. He  will  be  taught  that  it  is  un- 
manly to  tattle  and  gossip. 

He  will  be  taught   that  it  is  vulgar 


THE  COLORED  GIRL  BEAUTIFUL         201 

and  low  to  quarrel  especially  in  the 
home.  No  man  will  strike  a  woman  no 
matter  what  the  provocation  might  be 
any  more  than  it  would  have  been  right 
for  his  father  to  strike  his  mother.  A 
man  who  is  unable  to  control  himself 
in  anger  is  a  weak  man  and  is  hardly 
fit  to  be  a  husband,  much  less  father. 
Belonging  to  a  race  full  of  impulse  and 
emotion  he  must  be  taught  to  control 
his  emotions  as  he  would  his  appetite. 
Culture  and  manliness  are  really  re- 
straint 

He  will  be  taught  to  remember  the 
vital  sex  difference  in  strength  and 
physique  and  will  not  permit  a  woman 
to  lift  or  reach  unnecessarily — not  even 
to  help  with  his  coat.  He  will  not 
preach  a  double  standard  of  morality 
for  the  men  and  women  unless  he  prac- 
tices what  he  preaches  and  has  always 
been  pure. 

Early  in  the  boy's  life  the  colored 
mother  beautiful  will  teach  him  to  keep 
as  pure  in  thought  and  deed  as  girls 


202          THE  COLORED  GIRL  BEAUTIFUL 

are  expected  to  be.  He  vull  be  given 
a  right  idea  of  the  sacred  sex  organs 
and  will  be  taught  their  health- 
value  and  the  price  of  their  abuse. 
Self  mastery  will  be  the  watchword  in 
thought,  even  in  sleep  and  recreation. 

The  colored  mother  beautiful  will 
teach  her  son  not  to  lie  and  steal  or 
to  use  intoxicants  and  profane  lan- 
guage. She  will  teach  him  to  keep  both 
his  inward  and  outward  body  clean. 
She  shall  insist  that  he  keep  his  lips 
4'in"  while  his  chest  will  be  out.  The 
son  will  be  taught  the  value  of  a  good 
name  and  that  fondness  for  work  is 
one  of  the  best  recommendations  in  the 
world.  He  will  be  taught  not  to  scorn 
or  neglect  his  chores  and  to  help  his 
mother  in  the  housework,  not  only  be- 
cause it  is  his  duty  but  because  it  will 
prepare  him  for  the  duties  of  married 
life  when  he  may  be  able  to  help  his 
wife  or  instruct  her  if  it  should  be  nec- 
essary. 

The    colored    mother    beautiful    will 


THE  COLORED  GIRL  BEAUTIFUL          203 

teach  her  son  to  be  a  little  man  and 
not  to  receive  "penny  tips"  like  a  beg- 
gar. He  should  be  taught  to  do  neigh- 
borly favors  without  pay,  after  first 
asking  his  mother  for  permission.  If 
he  must  have  money  let  him  work  for 
wages  that  he  may  be  his  own  busi- 
ness boss.  He  should  never  be  per- 
mitted to  ask  any  one  but  his  parents 
for  pennies  and  he  should  be  en- 
couraged not  to  expect  or  accept  them. 

A  boy  should  be  expected  to  walk 
with  a  graceful  carriage  and  present 
an  attractive  personal  appearance  in 
the  way  of  clothes,  teeth,  hair  and  nails 
as  well  as  a  girl. 

Early  in  life  he  should  be  taught  to 
invest  in  a  savings  bank,  to  get  the 
saving  habit. 

The  habit  of  reading  good  books 
should  be  made  a  part  of  his  daily  work 
as  a  preparation  for  the  idle  hour  when 
he  would  otherwise  seek  excitement 
and  harmful  association. 

A  boy  should  be  taught  the  duties  of 


204          THE  COLORED  GIRL  BEAUTIFUL 

married  life  and  what  to  expect  from 
a  good  wife. 

He  should  be  warned  of  pitfalls  and 
how  vicious  girls  and  women  play  upon 
men's  physical  weaknesses  for  selfish 
purposes.  Any  abuse  or  excess  may 
ruin  his  health  and  happiness. 

He  should  be  taught  to  appreciate 
the  qualities  in  a  girl  which  will  make 
congeniality  during  the  long  married 
life  which  has  trials  of  which  courtship 
never  dreams. 

He  should  be  taught  to  seek  and  ap- 
preciate good,  respectable  girls  and  to 
associate  with  the  best  people. 

If  the  day  should  come  to  the  colored 
Mother  Beautiful  when  after  years  of 
patient  sacrifice  and  toil,  all  her  hopes 
and  dreams  are  cruelly  dashed  to  earth 
and  the  child  so  carefully  nurtured  re- 
fuses to  do  her  duty  to  parent  and  race 
and  will  not  help  to  make  the  race  and 
world  better  by  having  lived  in  it,  oi\ 
when  perhaps,  the  child  is  a  disgrace  to 
her  parents  and  the  race,  the  mother 


THE  COLORED  GIRL  BEAUTIFUL        205 

must  conceal  her  agony  and  grief  and 
still  keep  a  serene  countenance. 

In  silent  meditation  she  looks  back 
over  all  the  years  in  which  she  has  tried 
to  rear  a  creditable  member  of  the  race 
and  society.  If,  after  honest  review, 
down  in  her  heart  she  can  truthfully  say, 
"I  have  raised  my  child  to  the  best  of  my 
knowledge,"  then  she  may  leave  the  rest 
in  the  hands  of  the  "Creator.''  Perhaps 
he  will  reward  her  efforts,  in  a  future 
generation,  while  she  is  yet  on  earth. 

A  disappointed  colored  Mother  Beau- 
tiful does  not  envy  other  Mothers  nor 
does  she  criticise  their  daughters. 

Suffering  opens  the  door  to  a  wider 
vision  in  life  and  if  she  looks  around  she 
will  find  forgetfulness  in  helping  others. 
It  is  never  too  late  to  begin. 

Perhaps  the  Colored  Mother  Beautiful 
will  be  spared  to  see  the  day  when  her 
children  leave  the  home  honorably.  Al- 
though it  almost  breaks  her  heart  be- 
cause she  is  no  more  to  be  the  guiding 
light  and  comforter,  she  yields  the  seep- 


206          THE  COLORED  GIRL  BEAUTIFUL 

tre  of  authority  gracefully  and  willingly 
and  steps  into  the  background.  She  may 
see  a  rough  voyage  ahead  for  the  young 
life  travelers,  but  she  may  not  interfere 
nor  advise  these  loved  ones  unless  asked. 
Even  then  she  remembers  that  expe- 
rienc.e  is  the  greatest  teacher  and 
strengthener  and  that  it  is  best  for  them 
to  walk  life's  journey  alone. 

The  peace  and  contentment  that 
comes  from  having  done  her  whole  duty 
gives  her  a  spiritual  beauty  of  counte- 
nance that  comes  from  the  other  world ; 
the  habit  of  right  living  through  right 
thought,  reflects  in  her  face  and  gives 
her  a  physical  beauty  that  comes  in  no 
other  way. 

At  the  last,  the  Still  Small  Voice 
Whispers,  "Well  done,  thou  good  and 
faithful  servant  of  a  persecuted  race. 
You  have  done  what  you  could.  No  one 
can  do  more.  Receive  your  eternal  re- 
ward/' and  the  face  is  illumined  with  the 
beauty  that  shall  endure  forever. 


